Sunshine
by I Am Sweden
Summary: Part III-Roman Holiday Natalya has spent most of her life looking for her brother, on a mission to hunt down the monster that killed their family. When she arrives in New York City, she learns that there is more to his mission than she thought, and now a war is raging around the world. With the help of the young hunters and dean of "Sunshine Academy", she must save her brother.
1. Part I- Pilot

**I've had the idea for this fic since I first watched Supernatural about a year ago. Thanks to icky junior year, I wasn't able to really work on it. I've written bits and pieces here and there, but this is the first "chapter" I've finally gotten to really focus on. **_**Sunshine**_** is more of a collection of stories that all tie into one, so I honestly have no idea how many there will be. This is also an opportunity for you guys to suggest some stories! If I can kick my procrastination in the butt, I'll write as many as I get!**

**So, thanks for reading that stupid author's note! I hope you enjoy!**

**Sunshine**

_**Part I- Pilot**_

For Natalya, the answer would always be death.

However, to her uttermost annoyance, destiny seemed to always have a different plan.

She was not in the least suicidal- Natalya valued her life more than anything, for she knew how many people had given up theirs to ensure her safety. To throw that all away would be a disgrace to the fallen, and Natalya reviled the mere thought. Her often reckless decisions were often not her decisions anyway. Everything she did was for her brother, the only remaining family she had left. Natalya had given up on the notion of friendship long ago- what was the point of getting attached if her "business" always led to their deaths? It merely tore at her until her heart was a hardened, shredded mess.

But, she figured, so long as it retained its sorrowful rhythm, she was okay with that.

Ever since she was a child, Natalya's sole mission in life was to look for her brother after he left. It was a path of vengeance, he claimed. A path with only enough room for one person, and even then it was often narrow and hazardous to traverse. It was his duty, though. The monster that had killed their parents and older sister must face its death as well. Thus, Ivan left her, at the impressionable age of seven, with a Belarusian family in order to face death's beast.

Natalya never feared her brother was dead. Although he never showed his face, traces he had left behind to reassure her of his safety were everywhere. When these hints began appearing farther and farther from Minsk, Natalya knew it was time to begin chasing him. She left when she was fifteen. She didn't want her caretakers to know, because they wouldn't understand and would definitely try to hold her back. Natalya cared enough for them to leave a note apologizing for her sudden leave. She didn't say anything regarding her return.

Ivan thought that he must walk alone, but Natalya had other ideas. She had been raised to be stubborn and strong-willed, and not even her brother could take that away from her. Even when Ivan stopped leaving behind bits of his presence to bait her, Natalya persisted. She crossed all of Europe, discovering and defeating ancient evils, witnessing the aftermaths of her brother's identical work. Her journey led her into deserts of Western Asia, then to the steppes, mountains, and rainforests. It wasn't until she arrived in China that she lost trace of him.

There was no way this could deter Natalya from her mission. Using all means available to her, she made her way to the next continent. North America was a place full of wonder and cruel, underground horrors. Towering monstrosities in the Northwest only barely hindered her. Old spirits nearly forgotten hounded her in the Midwest, but she easily shook them off and continued.

In New York City, she picked up his trail again. It was a stale trail, and perhaps unreliable, for most of the local hunters were unsure if it had indeed been the infamous Ivan Braginski they had seen. It was her only lead, however, so she accepted the possibility that she may have finally caught up to him.

Since it didn't seem like Ivan would be leaving "the Big Apple" (_what a stupid name_, she mentally grumbled), she decided to find a place to stay.

The hunters all had the same location in mind for her, considering her age and occupation. Apparently a "school"- all used the term lightly- had been set up for young hunters around the world. It was quite prestigious in the underground, and several hunters knew others' children that attended.

"It's all run by one of the finest, too," one had proudly boasted. "Arthur Kirkland himself. They say he's single-handedly brought down twenty Wendigos by himself and-"

Natalya didn't need to hear anymore.

She'd be enrolled in that "school" within the hour.

((((()))))

"ARTHUR! ARTHUUUUUUUUUUR!" the young man screeched, lithely zooming at his top speed through the night. His coat whipped with the air he sliced through during his reckless sprint to the dean's office where Arthur Kirkland always was.

Arthur was calmly waiting outside the office building, illuminated by the street lamps surrounding the building. He regarded his companion with a nod. "Gilbert's already alerted me to the break-in. The intruder tripped one of his security charms."

"She didn't just break-in, Arthur. That's the _thing_," he said. "She's got years of experience on her. She's almost as good as you."

At his disbelieving expression, the young man opened his coat. Arthur's eyes widened at the knives stuck in him, hitting nearly every vital organ except the heart, which he was sure to dodge. Grunting, he pulled one out. "I don't think she realized I was a vampire or these would all be in my chest right now."

"You don't think she's after anyone here, do you, Tavian?" he worriedly asked, eyes flickering to the residence halls, hands straying to the gun and knives at his sides. "But more pressing than that- if she was able to get past _you, _we have an emergency on our hands. I'd like you to alert the others. Do _not _wake any of the children. If any of them- particularly the Vargas brothers- hear of this, there will be a mass panic. I'll start looking for her-"

"There's no need."

The two men snapped their heads around to see Natalya walk up. She looked Tavian over, pursing her lips. "So you are a vampire. I didn't know there were any in New York. Aren't most hives in Eastern Europe?"

"I came to America a few centuries or so ago with some immigrants," Tavian hesitantly answered. To see her suddenly so calm after that earlier attack completely threw him off balance. "And I've never really worked well with hives."

"I see," she murmured thoughtfully. Her eyes strayed over to Arthur next, looking over his appearance. He didn't seem like anyone particularly special, in her opinion. But then again, those who looked the part of a seasoned hunter were usually the idiots that got killed in their first real encounter. Stealth was the number one rule to any hunter, no matter what they specialized in.

Arthur didn't break his gaze away from her face. "Natalya Arlovskaya," he said. "I've heard much about you."

Tavian gaped. "_Arlovskaya?_"

It was either a miracle or her mercy that saved his life, then. He put a hand on his chest, though his heart hadn't worked in a _very _long time. It was just a habit he'd found himself picking up after spending so much time with the humans. Effectively blending in was rule number one for any vampire, of course.

Arthur and Natalya ignored the flabbergasted vampire standing stone still in their company. "What, might I ask, are you doing here?" Arthur asked. He didn't let his uneasiness flow into his voice, but Natalya could tell he was nervous by the way he stood so stiffly. "Anyone with your experience would have no need to come here."

"I haven't come to enroll in your silly school, Mr. Kirkland. Well… not for that reason, at least. I need a place to stay while I'm in New York. I figured that I could help out if you required me to pay you, though I really don't expect myself to be that endearing." Natalya crossed her arms, wearing her best no-nonsense face. Actually, it really didn't matter what Arthur decided. Natalya would be staying here regardless of whether or not the dean approved. During her walk to the dean's office, she had already talked to a nice young man named Isaiah that welcomed her and commented on how nice the dorms was. Of course, this guy was probably mental, for he continued to comment on how they were much better accommodations than the barracks at Fort Sumter.

But, much to her surprise, Arthur smiled. Tavian's gape only widened. "Of course you may stay, so long as you do not pose a threat to any of the students or faculty here. Also, I'd like to ask you to apologize to Mr. Lupei."

She blandly turned to Tavian and, in the most unapologetic deadpan ever, said, "Sorry about brutally stabbing you eight times. Now give me back my daggers."

"What, were you just going to leave my dead body back there so you could pick them up later at your convenience?" he grumbled, handing them to her.

"Probably." She turned back to Arthur before Tavian could spit out an angry retort. "Where will I be staying?"

(((((())))))

The girl had yet to shut up. Natalya predictably ignored her new roommate, a bright and cheerful Taiwanese girl named Xiao Mei, with every fiber of her being. This didn't seem to bother Xiao Mei, for she continued twittering away at how glad she was to finally have a roommate, and how she would show her around campus first thing tomorrow morning, and how she was sure they would be instant best friends.

Needless to say, it was one of those days that Natalya wished she had chosen to sleep out on the street, screwing the idea of comfy and safe accommodations. She regretted the thought almost as soon as it crossed her mind. "You need stop that," she muttered to herself.

Xiao Mei finally paused her planning, noticing- to Natalya's irritation- that she'd spoken. She sat down at the edge of her bed with a concerned frown. "Hey," she began, starting in a more thoughtful tone. It surprised Natalya- she was beginning to think the only emotion Xiao Mei had was extreme and obnoxious happiness. "I know how it feels to suddenly move in here. I didn't have a choice- my parents shipped me off here as soon as word about this place came to them. It was that way for a lot of people here. Our parents would never say it, but to them, we are physical and emotional burdens until we're properly trained. Even then it is difficult to let us go into the world and join the fight. Even the best eventually lose."

"Not always," Natalya quietly murmured. "My brother is the best hunter in the world. He has dispatched of everything that he has targeted or has targeted him. The only thing he hasn't gotten yet is the monster that killed our family."

She gasped. "I'm so sorry, Natalya. I had no idea-"

"It's alright," she sighed, waving her apologies away. Natalya leaned back against the wall and lazily looked around at the room. Posters of Xiao Mei's favorite music artists were plastered over the walls, but everything else was trim and spotless. The two desks in the room were neatly covered by large calendars and office supplies. Xiao Mei must have been very serious about her work here. Natalya vaguely wondered if all of the classes here related to hunting, or if there was a regular curriculum too. Another of her past regrets resurfaced to pick at her. Natalya supposed she was academically stupid compared to everyone else her age. She had left Minsk before finishing the ninth grade. Now she was nineteen and horrible at any kind of math, science, or history.

Xiao Mei's soft voice pulled her back. "It won't be that hard assimilating. We're kind of a big family here. You'll fit in before you know it."

Natalya shook her head. "I doubt I'll stay here long enough for that. Besides, I don't really like getting attached."

She giggled. Natalya narrowed her eyes at her, but she merely said, "I know at least thirty people who swore they would never get along with anyone here, and now they're the friendliest of all. Lovino's the only one who still keeps to himself, but I've seen him talking with Alice Johannes enough times to tell that he's just shy. Lovi's as loveable as Feliciano."

"Who?"

"They're brothers that go here," Xiao Mei explained. "They're not hunters, but their guardians are. Ludwig's in my class and Gilbert teaches both regular history and underground charms study. Anyway, Lovino and Feliciano were cursed with immortality after a duel between their grandfather and his archenemy, Ludwig and Gilbert's ancestor. Before he died in battle, their grandfather cursed his enemy's first son's descendents to take care of Lovi and Feli. Apparently they've been friends with Arthur for a while. They helped him build this place."

Natalya was a little surprised. She had heard about curses and magic, but she never really came into contact with any of it. Natalya's business consisted of dealing solely with monsters and malevolent spirits. And annoying Lithuanians and Poles, but Natalya _really _did not like to talk about that. She almost shuddered at the horrible memory. Suffice to say, she wasn't going back to Poland for a _long _time.

With her interest piqued at last, Natalya found herself carrying on a decent conversation with Xiao Mei. She told her about the teachers and their specialties, the students and their families or unique abilities. "We've also got another pair of brothers that aren't hunters too. They're Alfred Jones and Matthew Williams- actually, they're step-brothers, but they claim each other as blood brothers. It's really sweet. Anyway, I heard they were on vacation and Alfred got possessed by the spirit of a Confederate soldier in Fort Sumter. It's funny, though, because Isaiah only takes over when Alfred is asleep or unconscious."

Natalya's eyes widened. "I-Isaiah?" she burst.

Xiao Mei nodded. "I guess you met him? He's a real gentlemen. I love Isaiah. Alfred's a lazy pig, but you didn't hear that from me. Matthew is just precious. I don't think I've ever met a boy as sweet as him. Arthur ran into them three years ago and agreed to take them in. He promised to find a way to exorcise Alfred, but nothing he's tried has worked yet. Isaiah hates Alfred, so it's not like he's _trying _to keep a hold over him. I honestly don't know what to think of it."

"Sounds curious," Natalya agreed. "What does Matthew do if he's not possessed or a hunter?"

"He works a lot with Gilbert, gathering legends and verifying them either as true or fiction. With his help, we've gathered a lot of knowledge of different spirits and charms. Like, did you know the original _Beauty and the Beast _was real? Gilbert found the magic ring in France, and now it's in Arthur's vault. It's both cool and a little frightening to learn that these fairytales really did happen. The Grimm Brothers were some of the best hunters and scholars of their time. Oh, and we usually have Matthew on blood duty for Tavian."

"Blood duty?"

Xiao Mei nodded again, this time enthusiastically. Natalya mentally groaned. "Tavian's sort of the body guard around here. He keeps everything supernatural or threatening off campus. Nothing ever gets past him!"

_Until tonight,_ Natalya mused. Xiao Mei was still in the middle of her exposition: "He's such a cool vampire, though! Tavian used to be a hunter in Romania- everyone knows that's a haven for supernatural stuff, so he's especially strong because of that. One day, he was going after a vampire, but before it fully died, it turned him. He's rebelled against all things vampiric since, except for O negative blood. He loves the stuff. We hold annual blood drives to keep things stocked up for him. One of the rotating after-hours jobs around here is to make up drinks for him. It's not the best job in the world, but most of us just push if off on Matthew. I swear, _nothing _disgusts that boy. It's probably from living with Alfred."

"Do you hate Alfred or something?"

"Of course not! He's a great guy! It's just… he's really _really _annoying. Like, a red bull charged puppy kind of annoying. He's hot, too. If he didn't have that obnoxious hero-complex, I'd totally go out with him."

That officially sent Natalya's head spinning. Hot? Go out with? Natalya's English was not the best, but she figured this wasn't an effect of her bad language skills. Even worse, it was an effect of her bad teenage-girl skills. Natalya couldn't help but be cynical and totally unromantic since her prime teenage years were spent traveling around the world after her brother, fighting anything nasty that got in her way.

When Xiao Mei realized this, her excitement shot through the roof. "You don't know boy stuff?" she squealed. "Wait just a minute! I've got to introduce you to Taiwan's hottest!"

Natalya was sure she had never felt this level of terror as she watched Xiao Mei grab an armful of Taiwanese magazines, each a neon color emblazoned with a handsome boy.

((((()))))

Morning classes did not come soon enough for Natalya. She hadn't been able to get a wink of sleep after Xiao Mei's endless lectures on "discovering the right guy for you". They had gone through countless stupid quizzes together, each accented by a squeal from Xiao Mei when they checked their results. According to the magazines, Natalya's perfect man was sweet, caring, but also fun-loving. Another said that although this man would be a challenge to deal with, it would also be a fun experience.

Awful thoughts of Natalya dragging around _Alfred- _for that was who first came to mind during all of this- plagued her all night long. She was afraid that if she ever saw him (or Isaiah) again, she might decapitate him on the spot. Arthur was sure to be displeased about that, though, and he'd probably kick her out. Then Natalya would be forced to sleep out on the street.

When Xiao Mei woke up at five to get ready for her day, Natalya decided to leave her be and explore a little. To her ever so pleasant surprise, a note had been left on their door some time during the night. With the apparent general letter of greeting was a class schedule attached. On the back, written in a fancy script Natalya could barely read, was a note from Arthur: "Just in case you decide to stay with us longer than expected."

She looked the schedule over with utter disinterest. Normally she would just crumple it up and tossed it somewhere, but after a night with Xiao Mei's endless speeches about how great this place was, Natalya decided she would give it a chance. To her surprise, the schedule was actually… interesting. Arthur had signed her up in classes teaching subjects she had either never really learned or had ever heard of. One she found particularly interesting: Supernatural Identification, taught by Professor Nikolaus Bondevik. According to the description, it went over the classification of spirits and beasts, as well described the best ways to deal with them.

Natalya tried her hardest not to show her embarrassment when she asked Xiao Mei where her first class was.

Xiao Mei was simply excited to help. As expected, because she was always excited about something. The increasingly more appealing thought of New York City street life entertained her as Xiao Mei gave her precise directions. Then, before Natalya could escape, she decided that Natalya's wardrobe needed help. Well… not _help._ Her exact words were "we need to get you out of a nineteenth century dress and into something much cuter, because today we will be finding you a nice, cute guy to hang out with".

She had to get out of here.

((((()))))

Xiao Mei got her way.

She was an expert in brainwashing. Somehow, she had finally gotten Natalya to change into one of her outfits. It was a tight fit, but Natalya supposed that was because she usually wore baggier and looser clothes for easier fighting. Because that was what Natalya did: fight and travel, then fight and travel some more. She did have the luxury of caring about fashion or boys, because both were incredibly stupid. If Xiao Mei wasn't her friend-

Natalya stopped in the middle of the path, nearly causing the person walking behind her to bump into her. She clenched at her hair in horror. Xiao Mei was right! This place was already making her soft! What was she thinking, becoming friends with Xiao Mei and dressing up like this? Natalya wasn't a student at school! She was a trained professional with a very important mission! If she didn't find Ivan soon….

…If she didn't find Ivan, would it really make a difference? Ivan had been fine without her this long. Would finding him actually prove to be a hindrance? Had Xiao Mei been right about that, too? That family would always be a burden, even after sufficient training?

_Our parents would never say it, but to them, we are physical and emotional burdens until we're properly trained. Even then it is difficult to let us go into the world and join the fight. Even the best eventually lose._

The last thing she wanted was to be a burden for Ivan. Natalya had always wanted to travel with him, helping him fight and hunt down that despicable Wendigo that killed their parents and Katyusha. Two were better than one, no matter what Ivan argued. Surely he knew it was impossible to go alone, right? That's why it was imperative that Natalya find him. She had to save him before he lost himself on this suicidal mission.

"U-um, excuse me, Miss," a voice twittered behind her.

Natalya snapped her head around at the nuisance breaking her train of thought. "What?" she grumbled.

The young Indian man didn't seem perturbed by her attitude. He grinned and stuck out his hand. "Hello! My name is Deshad Hiranandani, and I've been sent to deliver a message to you from Ivan."

Like a cannon ball had just crashed into her chest, her breath escaped her. She swallowed hard, trying to recompose herself. "A-a message? What is it? Is he okay? He isn't hurt, is he? Where did you last see him?"

"Calm down! Ivan's fine. He's staying in New York for a while to regroup with some old friends. He said it's about time for him to take on the Wendigo."

There went her breath and her nerves again. Her wired brain quickly processed the information and then gave her an awful headache. Old friends? Since when did Ivan have old friends? But then again, Ivan had to have acquaintances in the underground, right? That was how so many people knew him, unlike how they knew Natalya only for her reputation. All of the hunters she had met in New York so far hadn't recognized her unless she mentioned her name.

Except Arthur Kirkland. She mulled that realization over as well. How had he known? Had the daggers given it away? They were her primary weapon, after all.

She shook all of that away and refocused herself on Deshad. If he knew so much about Ivan and was able to recognize her, he must have known Ivan well. That definitely meant he knew where her brother was! "Where in New York is Ivan?" she demanded.

Deshad shrugged. "I'm not allowed to tell you that. Sorry, but he doesn't want you to get involved with this. I think he mentioned something about wanting you to go back home?"

"I don't have a home to go back to!" she shrilled. "And what the heck do you mean he doesn't want me to get involved with this? I was there when they were killed! I've trained my whole life to get on Ivan's level so we could take the Wendigo out together!"

At his pitying smile, Natalya felt the urge to strangle him. She only barely restrained herself, reminding herself that if she killed Deshad, she may not find Ivan before he left again. She would always be chasing him. Natalya took a deep breath that did not calm her nerves as she had hoped. "You do not seem to understand, Deshad, how important it is that I see Ivan. I haven't seen him since I was eight years old."

"Don't you think he's changed since then?" Deshad said. He glanced up at the large clock on the Office Building. "I don't have much time left to play Twenty Questions. Any serious things you want to ask me before I take off?"

Natalya racked her brain. She had to know as much information as possible. None of her questions would likely get answers from the Indian man, but she tried nonetheless. "Who are you? A hunter? A friend of Ivan's?"

His smile turned outright cheerful, raising Natalya's blood pressure further. "Like I said, I'm Deshad Hiranandani. I wouldn't call myself a hunter, per se, but I do know Ivan from my business. We've been working together for a long time."

It was true then- Ivan had allies. For some reason, the fact bothered her. She was angry that Ivan had friends- in fact, she was happy for him. But… it also meant that Natalya was perfectly able to make friends too, right? If her brother had given up on his lonely quest, she also had that choice. But just thinking of having friends traveling with her made her sick. Too many bad memories of vicious mortal attacks and loss batted at her. She couldn't let that happen ever again to anyone, especially her friends. Especially the kids at this school with loving families and friends.

Deshad's grin faltered when he gave the clock another peek. "I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you more, Natalya. I really wish I could help you, but if I endanger you, Ivan's sure to kill me." He nervously shrugged and waved. "I'll see you again, I'm sure. If not in this life, then definitely the next."

"W-wait!" she called after him. When she tried to follow him, she smacked into something invisible. A wall? No, what was the English word…. Ah! A force field! Natalya slammed her palm into it, watching the impenetrable wall momentarily glisten in rainbow hues. "What are you?" she yelled at him.

Deshad continued walking, no doubt with that smug smile on his face.

Since it was impossible to go back, Natalya huffily spun around and marched towards the history department. It was time to meet this Gilbert Beilschmit.

((((()))))

"I'm back!" Deshad sang, swirling inside their hotel suite. He theatrically bowed. "Thank you for giving me the pleasure of meeting your lovely younger sister."

His companion sighed, sipping at his tea. "Ivan's not in right now." Deshad looked up with a pout. "Don't give me that," Yao chastened. "I know it's your duty to look out for him, but it's not your job to stalk him. I believe that job is currently occupied by Miss Arlovskaya?"

Deshad wilted over to the couch, sullenly biting his lip. Yao was right, of course. Even though it was his cosmic duty to take care of Ivan, Deshad realized he did need to give him from breathing room from time to time. After all, Ivan had taken care of himself for seven years before meeting Deshad. He would be fine on his own.

But, Deshad thought with a deepening frown, New York City was not at all like Europe or even Asia. The spirits here were different from what they were used to. And with so many worldwide hunters gathering here to watch the inevitable show down, plenty of haunting or guardian specters would be following them overseas, too. Maybe Ivan and Yao couldn't see it, but Deshad could feel the heavy air settling over the city. It shook him up every time he stepped outside. So many spirits settling in one area was not good news. With their mission, it was even more dangerous. There could be deaths if they didn't move carefully. Deshad was afraid that confronting Natalya may have even unleashed terrible consequences. If she figured out what he really was and it out-

"Calm down, Deshad. Worrying will get you no where."

"Easy for you to say," he muttered. "You don't feel the pressure."

Yao set down his glass. "I may not feel the spirits, but their arrival has certainly caught my eye. Ivan also knows what we've drawn here, and that's why he's trying his hardest to get Arthur Kirkland on our side. He's the only person who can combat the darkness, because he has witnessed it first hand."

Deshad's hands trembled. "…That's impossible."

"His very existence in the present _is _impossible, but as you well aware, he is here, is he not?" Yao asked. Deshad looked over at him to see that Yao was just as nervous about this as him. If Arthur was the only person qualified to fight their enemies, then he was something much more powerful than he had expected. But, from what they had observed, Arthur had no special abilities. He wasn't a deva, or a spirit, or anything! Just a _hunter_.

And that was precisely what vexed them the most.

((((()))))

Arthur Kirkland stood by the large windows in his office over looking the campus in its entirety. The busy students milled about on their way to morning classes, joining up with friends in their usual groups. Even from so high up, Arthur could identify each of them. Kiku walked between Sadiq and Herakles, Alfred was animatedly telling another outrageous story to Matthew and Yong Soo, and Emil and Jia Long stood waiting for Professors Nikolaus and Nianzu to arrive at their usual spot by the water fountains.

He released a sigh, seeing all was well. Arthur certainly did love his job, but when he looked out at the children here- their smiling faces, devoid of worry and pain- the weight of his job fell on him. It was his responsibility to protect them from everything the world had to offer. Arthur had several others on the watch, also charged with the duty of looking out for them, but it all fell down to him in the end. Arthur was terrified to think of what would happen if he let his guard down for just a moment. The peace he had been able to secure for these kids would be stolen, and they would prematurely meet the world's cruelty. They would all become like Natalya, so stiff and heartless.

That was why he had allowed her to stay. Seeing someone so young burdened down with too many years of pain and hardship hit him below the belt. Arthur couldn't possibly allow her to carry on like that. He had seen what became of people like her, and it was not a pretty sight.

"So you see why it is impossible for me to join you," he said softly, gaze never breaking from the peaceful scene before him.

"…That is very unfortunate," Ivan murmured, taking another step to peer more closely at the children. He pursed his lips. "My sister will be more than able to protect them, Arthur."

Arthur shook his head. "You're missing the point, Mr. Braginski. It's not just about Natalya's sure ability to take care of this school. It's about taking care of her, too. And who, pray tell, will do that if I am gone and you continue to distance yourself from her? You are reason she's grown so cold that she shies away from warmth. Do you realize that, Mr. Braginski?"

"I realize that my actions have kept her alive and safe," he coldly retorted.

"But so very lonely." Arthur frowned, locking on to her troubled figure, stalking her way over to the history department. He stubbornly shook his head, looking back to Ivan. "I cannot let her become like me. I apologize, but this is where I draw the line."

Ivan nodded thoughtfully, peering out at his sister with a gaze riddled with sorrow. "…She is more like you than you know, Arthur. And not just because you are both victims of the same monster."

Arthur went rigid. "Pardon my tone, but I must ask you to kindly leave, Mr. Braginski."

He didn't need to say anything more anyway. "Goodbye, Arthur," he sweetly said. "Please continue to watch over my sister."

He softly shut the door behind him.


	2. Part II, Chapter 1- The Fog

**This is one of those stories I had already half written. It was a (late and unfinished) birthday present to my dear friend Rosa. (But seriously, I'm really sorry about that -.-)**

_**Part II, Chapter 1- The Fog**_

The sun was hours away from the four a.m. meeting outside. Among the five of them, only one was wide awake- Tavian Lupei, sitting upon one of the stone tables that littered the area. During the day, the courtyard was scattered with the slightly more-normal-than-them kids, studying, hanging out- basically doing anything considered normal for private school kids. However, these five weren't exactly normal, even if they did go to a school that boasted its impressive list of kid-hunters or the sons and daughters of hunters.

Arthur Kirkland was one such hunter who had a day job as the young dean of the academy. Anyone else would think it would be a difficult and nearly impossible job, running a college in the middle of hectic New York and keeping it safe. That was actually the easy part. He and the staff had put up so many protective charms and spells around the school that only one "monster" had been able to cross: Tavian, but only with special permission from Arthur.

Alfred F. Jones sat on a bench beside his brother, eyes drooping, but still stubbornly awake and chewing on a pencil as he bent over a book. "You know, we didn't even call you to this meeting," Arthur grumbled when he took another swig of his coffee. "I believe I requested that Isaiah be here."

"I have a test tomorrow thanks to Gilbert, so you're stuck with me," he snapped back in a voice just as pleasant, reaching this time for a Red Bull that his step-brother, Matthew, easily took away from him. That much caffeine at once could and would keep him wide awake, but Matthew didn't want his brother's heart to explode in the process.

Rolling his eyes, Arthur sighed and addressed Natalya, primly sitting with her legs crossed, picking at one of her assorted blades. It had been surprisingly easy to draw her to the meeting, and it almost unnerved Arthur. But then again, he still had yet to really get to know her. It had been a week since her late night arrival, and she had already gotten acquainted with the school's most infamous. Arthur sighed. "You're in Gilbert's class as well, aren't you? Shouldn't you also be studying?"

"I think I know enough about European history since I've only lived there my entire life," she coldly stated, pocketing the dagger in a sheathe.

Tavian's slurp interrupted the ensuing silence. He instantly let out a cry of disgust. "Ugh, gross, Mattie!" he whined, frowning as he inaudibly hopped down to the ground and tossed the McDonalds cup in the trash. "It had some A in it. It totally spoils the taste of O."

The blonde sitting beside Alfred sheepishly apologized. Yet again it had been his turn to make up Tavian's drinks. Catering to their local vampire's issue so he wouldn't snap and kill everyone on campus was the worst possible important job ever. Alfred, however, was never stuck on blood duty- he and Isaiah had no chores since they were used as test subjects for Professor Nikolaus Bondevik's class.

"Anyway," Arthur started, persevering nonetheless. "There has been talk of a new threat that has made its way to our area. If its legacy has anything to boast, it will be able to easily cross the border onto school grounds. I had hoped Gilbert would be here to tell us more about this particular threat, but he refused to leave his room. Ludwig, of course, is still on vacation with the Vargas brothers."

"Gilbert's a jerk."

"No one asked for your opinion, Jones! Now pipe down or let Isaiah take over!"

Isaiah was not an alternate personality as one might be led to believe. It was quite an odd story, really. Matthew and Alfred, unlike everyone else at the academy, had absolutely no prior knowledge of monsters and hunters until a family vacation to Fort Sumter. Everything had been seemingly well- aside from Alfred's silly fear of zombies popping up like in a movie he had watched just days earlier- until they were leaving. Neither Matthew nor Alfred had told anyone exactly what had happened, so Arthur and everyone else were sketchy on the details.

They knew, however, that the Confederate soldier's ghost couldn't fully possess Alfred unless he was asleep or unconscious, and sometimes even then Isaiah didn't have enough power to really do anything. That much they had learned from the ghost.

His name was Isaiah Tunnel. He had been a soldier under Stonewall Jackson's command, stationed at the fort. In the next town over, his wife had been shot by a Union soldier. Seeking revenge, Isaiah ran away from the fort to confront this soldier, only to meet his death as well. Something had "awoken him" when Alfred walked by, however, allowing him to possess him. Or, at least, partially possess him. Again, the details were awfully sketchy.

Arthur cleared his throat. "This threat has two known names: in Europe, it is known as Der Grossman, or, in English, the Tall Man. Recently it has been given the name Slenderman in pop culture-"

Alfred snapped his head up. "Wait a minute!" he yelled, jumping up to his feet. Natalya gave him a sharp glare and Arthur felt a migraine coming on. "You mean Slendy's seriously real? No way!" Alfred dropped his history book and grabbed at his hair. "DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I KNOW ABOUT HIM? Holy- he's going to EAT ME! The more you know about him, the greater your chances of being a target, and since I'm a freaking student who goes to a freaking school _founded _on the belief of freaky stuff, he's totally going to get me!"

"Oh, mother," Natalya sighed. When Matthew politely corrected her on the saying, she threw a dagger into the back of the bench right next to his ear. "Shut up, Williams."

Matthew quickly nodded, easing away from the knife. Natalya turned to Arthur with a bland gaze. "May I _please _knock him out?"

"No," Arthur shook his head, shooting her a scowl. He calmly sat Alfred (who was still muttering in sheer terror) back down. "I wasn't aware you actually kept up to date on the supernatural. I need you tell me all that you know about Der Grossman."

Most of Alfred's stuttered information was what he had already researched himself: tall, lanky figure with no face, sometimes seen with tentacles protruding from his back, said to target only children but some stories suggest otherwise.

Tavian frowned once he was done. "…There's a Romanian legend about a beast similar to that. The legend never says if the thing had a face or not, but it fit the description of tall and bony. Its arms were supposedly hard enough to cut through human flesh. It dressed as a nobleman- or in a suit, in today's time- and tricked a family by luring them someplace secluded. Then, he killed them all except the family's youngest daughter. He could change his voice into the voices of her parents. When she wouldn't open the door, he came down the fireplace, dragged her over to the fire and held her over the flame until she died."

Matthew raised his hand. When he successfully held everyone's attention, he said, "I've looked a little into it with Gilbert. We found a few pictures from a slab of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics that had a figure that looked like Slenderman on it. There were also a few German paintings that depicted a figure like that. There was a rumor about some kind of Roman legend about him, but I figured I should ask Feliciano or Lovino about it first."

Arthur nodded thoughtfully. "Then it knows how to adapt if it's been around for so long. Its multiple locations throughout history is a bit unnerving, but I've seen worse. I'd like you to call Feliciano later, Matthew, to check on the Roman legend. And since you're sure you're a target, Alfred-"

"No way," he practically snarled. "I am not being your bait!"

"You'll be perfectly safe," Arthur grumbled. "Nothing's gotten past Tavian yet."

Well, besides Natalya, of course, but no one really liked to remember that particular incident. When Natalya came to America half a year ago in search of her brother, she of course eventually ended up in New York. After hearing about the school, she managed to fight her way past Tavian and enroll. To make things clear, that does not happen easily, and Tavian swore after that embarrassing night to never let it happen again. He made no promises if Natalya's brother decided to break in. According to Natalya, Ivan was not someone to be taken lightly.

Although Tavian had never met Ivan, Arthur had, and he knew all that Natalya said was a major understatement. Ivan Braginski, like Natalya, was on a mission to avenge his family's death at the hands of a Wendigo- or whatever the Russian hunters liked to call it. It had killed their parents and older sister, Katyusha, so Ivan was pretty determined to see it slaughtered by his hand. The Wendigo Ivan was after must have been a unique one for they were all over the place in nearly every part of the world. However, Nikolaus was the one who knew all about that, being the monster expert-

"Nikolaus," Arthur breathed as the thought occurred to him. Even with all of Alfred's knowledge on Slenderman, Nikolaus definitely knew a lot more on the subject, and thus would be the _real _target. "We've got to get to his lab!"

((((()))))

"Miiiiiisteeeeeeeeer Kiiiiiiiiiiirklaaaaaaaaaaaaaand!"

Arthur didn't even have time to turn before a Korean literally jumped him. They fell in a heap on the floor, causing everyone (except for Tavian who hopped up on the ceiling) to backpedal before adding to the heap. Yong Soo jumped up anxiously, throwing his arms around Alfred. "THAT THING WAS TOTALLY _NOT _FROM KOREA!"

Alfred began to panic, for once not seeming to notice how Yong Soo was hugging in a manner that could be considered a bit too friendly. He let out a wail, hugging Yong Soo back. "It's Slendy, isn't it? I told you he's after me! SOO, MAN, WE HAVE TO GET AWAY FROM THIS THING."

Yong Soo flinched back. "Uh, what's this 'we'? I'm heading to Seoul tonight to get away from this thing. You guys can fight the _noppora_ reject."

Before they could further argue, Arthur pushed his way between them. "Yong Soo, calm down. I take it you've seen the new threat?"

"Seen it?" he quietly asked, eyes filling with horror. "_Seen it? _This fog came out of nowhere- Professor Bondevik thought someone had, like, left the door to the gardens open. All of a sudden, Jia Long was yelling at us to go, and Professor Bondevik was pulled into the fog by this weird white hand. I tried to reach him, but this white… well, I can't really call it a face, I guess- it was a _noppora_, but not a _noppora_. Anyway, it popped up in front of me, and I took off after Jia Long. It was a strategic escape first used in Kor-"

"It took Nikolaus?" Arthur burst, grabbing his shoulders. He whirled on Alfred, whose face was pale and eyes wide. "Where does Slenderman take his victims?"

He slowly shook his head.

"No one knows."

Arthur shut his eyes a moment. Yong Soo's lips trembled with a genuine fear not usually found in him. Having fought demons and malevolent spirits all of his life, nothing particularly frightened him. Well, besides Arthur in the morning before he had his tea. Yong Soo had grown up mostly by himself in rural South Korea- almost like Natalya in Belarus. However, his family hadn't been torn apart by a Wendigo. The Im family had always been famous hunters globally known for their successes in exorcising even the most powerful spirits.

Not to say Yong Soo didn't have the same impressive list of accomplishments, but he simply wasn't as focused and solemn as the rest of them. So, his father sent him to New York, hoping that (actually, it was more like begging) Arthur would whip him into shape.

It wasn't working, obviously.

Tavian landed silently on the floor. He promised to search the area before changing into a bat (of course, because normal, non-sparkly vampires do that. He did not, however, sleep in a coffin. It was too conspicuous in the middle of a school. Instead, Arthur and the janitors agreed to let him inhabit a lovely coffin-sized closet. According to Tavian, it was actually quite cozy.).

"Yong Soo, I need you to find Emil and tell him to get ready for a mission," Arthur said at last with a heavy exhale. He waved him off and snapped for everyone else to do the same. "We're leaving tomorrow morning. We _will_ find Nikolaus by the end of the week."

((((()))))

Meanwhile, in Sicily, Ludwig Beilschmit was in his own interesting predicament. He sat at a shady table in the corner of an outdoor café, untouched Italian coffee before him beside his laptop. Gilbert was ranting on the screen, not meeting Ludwig's eyes in favor of glaring at the various essays sprawled out around him. Ludwig wasn't really paying attention to him, instead forcing himself to keep watch over Feliciano and Lovino, despite how sickening it was to see them simultaneously flirt with every female that got within a ten foot range of them.

Ugh. Ludwig really couldn't stand Italians. If he wasn't forced to be here right now….

Gilbert's (awesome and very manly) shriek of surprise broke his stare. Ludwig whipped his head down to the screen to see Tavian now standing over Gilbert, yanking on his arm. "_Gil, it's important! Arthur demands that every member of faculty- that includes you- needs to meet in his office. We've had a breach and- hey, is that you, Ludwig? How's Sicily?_"

"Fine," he absently muttered. "What's this about a breach? Do we need to come back?"

"_No, you better keep them there. Der Grossman might come after the brothers because of- well, you know. Their predicament._"

At the same time, Ludwig and Gilbert yelled, "DER GROSSMAN?"

Ludwig sat himself back down with as much dignity as he could muster with dozens of Italians now gazing at him in fear and apprehension. Feliciano wriggled his way through the crowd, winking over his shoulder for a girl to call him later. He grabbed Lovino's wrist on the way and dragged him over to Ludwig. "What's going on?" he worriedly chirped. "What's a… Durr Grahssmahn?"

"Der Grossman," Ludwig corrected him. "It's a German spirit that originated from the feelings a man left behind in the forest where he was executed for his crimes as a child kidnapper. Basically, it's a figure born of hatred that seeks to steal children away."

"_Not just children,_" Tavian said. "_He took off with Nikolaus. We think he came to Nikolaus because he knew so much about Slenderman. Er, Der Grossman. Whatever. There are too many versions to be certain._"

Ludwig resisted the urge to palm himself when Feliciano broke down into tears over Nikolaus's disappearance. Lovino took to muttering angry curses to himself. Curtly, Ludwig nodded. "Very well. Keep us updated. We will remain in Sicily until this is over."

He didn't sound very optimistic, because Der Grossman never left anything to be optimistic about.

((((()))))

Emil, though wide awake, couldn't help but release a yawn. In the early hours just before dawn, he sat on his bed surrounded by an array of neatly polished weapons and other supplies. He picked up a small axe adorned with ancient Scandinavian carvings. With a slight frown- Emil hated the thought of bringing one of Abel's gifts along- he gently laid it on top of the clothes in his suitcase.

Abel had gotten him that, too, before he and Nikolaus left Europe. It wasn't that Emil hated his eldest brother or anything. Their relationship was… complicated. Especially since Abel fell in love with a stupid mermaid. But Emil really didn't like to think about that pathetic excuse of a racial integration, so he focused on the issue at hand.

The one brother he could generally tolerate was kidnapped by a malevolent spirit. Monster. Thing. Emil supposed Arthur really couldn't have been more descriptive than that.

He heard Yong Soo's anxious footsteps pounding down the hall before he could even knock on the door. Emil grabbed his things and opened the door right as Yong Soo poised to knock. "I'm ready. Let's go."

"Awesome. Artie's waiting with The Ring."

The Ring was one of Gilbert's finer trinkets. Like any good fairytale buff, he had everything ever mentioned in a story- a cursed apple (which was under strict lock and key in Arthur's office somewhere), a golden goose egg (which… really wasn't as big or magical as one would expect), and basically anything else. The Ring, from the original Beauty and the Beast story, had actually been in Feliciano's possession first, found during his very short time in France two hundred years ago. Uh, we'll get more into that later. But once it was Gilbert and Ludwig's turns to play as guardians, Feliciano decided to pass it on to them.

Sure enough, in Gilbert's meticulously cleaned office stood the entire gang. Except for Tavian, sitting on top of the filing cabinet, starting to yawn as his dawn bedtime approached. Emil cocked an eyebrow at seeing Jia Long and Kiku also in the room. He had expected Yong Soo (the cocky little showoff…) to come, but them too?

"I'm responsible for this," Jia Long quietly said, as if reading his mind. "And Kiku, like, came to baby-sit Yong Soo."

"I don't need to be baby-sat! I'm the best hunter ever because I'm Korean and tons better than any of you!"

Emil and Jia Long completely ignored him and butted their way into the nice little circle around Gilbert and his magic ring. In the fairytale, Belle had wished to see the beast, and the ring had whisked her to his side. Thus, it should be possible to use the ring to take them to Nikolaus, right? That was the plan, anyway.

"Okay, we've got the Asian trio, Emil, Artie, Tavian, and Alfred going, right?" Gilbert asked, gingerly uncovering the ring. It didn't look like anything fancy, but Emil knew most magical artifacts didn't. "All together, you have to touch the ring. I guess."

"You _guess?_" Emil deadpanned.

But that didn't particularly matter. Even if they were about to get shot to different dimensions or something, Emil had to take that chance. Abel would flip out if he caught word of this. And Emil dreaded to think of what would happen if his other brothers, the perfectly normal Berwald and Tino, discovered their brother kinda got kidnapped by a… by a Slenderman.

The seven of them touched the ring, and they were gone.

((((()))))

Yong Soo always had an aversion to creepy, foggy forests that seemed to block out any and all sunshine. He wasn't afraid, mind you! Like a true and awesome Korean, he wasn't afraid of anything, because he was better than everything!

But Kiku had to be terrified of them! So, in order to keep Kiku from freaking out, Yong Soo flung himself at him.

Arthur didn't say a word at the tackle. Yong Soo tackled Kiku and Alfred at least seventy times a day. Alfred pulled out his phone almost instantly. Finally, it seemed Arthur's training had kicked in. Rule 34: Whenever you are teleported to an unknown location, it is best to check the time and see if you have cell phone service. For the record, he totally didn't just make that up.

Tavian clambered up the nearest tree to scan the area. "Looks like there's a town a few miles off."

"Any idea where we are, Alfred?"

"Well… we're seven hours ahead of New York, so Europe somewhere?" Alfred shrugged, handing his smartphone over to Jia Long.

In a few seconds, Jia Long had their coordinates. His ability to find that kind of stuff out…. "We're in northern Germany, a little ways from the Danish border. My European geography skills suck, so… Holstein, maybe? I dunno." He shrugged and handed Alfred back his phone. Arthur faintly grinned as he gave the forest a quick three-sixty. Jia Long paused, expression turning curious. "I see a note."

"NOTES? THERE ARE SERIOUSLY _NOTES _WE HAVE TO FOLLOW?" Alfred screeched, pulling at his hair once more. Arthur smacked the back of his head to shut him up. After giving him a sullen scowl, Alfred explained, "There's a game about Slenderman. In the game, you have to find eight pages before he gets you. Do _not _play this game at night! Like, me and Mattie tried it, and I peed my pants before we even got the first page!"

"…Wonderful to know," Emil deadpanned, giving him a look. Arthur and Yong Soo edged away from him. Emil retrieved the note, looking at it curiously. There were no words, just a crudely drawn picture. Alfred made a strangled sound at the sight, but everyone ignored him. "They look like little houses. But they also kinda look like… faces?"

Kiku thoughtfully nodded. "Perhaps this is a clue to finding the professor. Maybe… maybe Slenderman wants us to find him? But for what reason?" Slightly wincing, he turned to Alfred. "A-any ideas, Alfred-kun?"

Once again, the brunette was at a loss. However, Alfred finally wore a look of concern rather than stupid terror. Kiku wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not, but he had to admit the change was rather comforting. If he had to deal with a hyper Alfred _and _Yong Soo, Kiku was sure he couldn't make it through this mission with all of his sanity intact. He took a glance at Arthur, face troubled and expression grim. Things would be even worse for Arthur if things persisted the way they had been. Kiku could tell Nikolaus's disappearance hurt him a way none of the others- except Emil- felt.

Seeing no one offering any motion, Kiku lightly cleared his throat. "Perhaps we should continue in the direction of the note. It may lead us to a town or… or some others. Alfred-kun-"

"There's only one Slenderman, so far as I know," he confirmed.

Kiku nodded. "Alright. Is everyone okay with this plan?" At their affirmation, they set off.

((((()))))

Natalya sat in her dorm, slight scowl on her face as she peered out the window. Due to the recent turn of events, she decided to skip class and remain on alert. For whatever reason, she felt oddly obligated to pick up Arthur's job. According to what she had witnessed during the past few days, many of the students and several teachers here were all morons. Perhaps she wanted to watch for them in pity. Yes, that was certainly it, she decided.

She still didn't seem very sure about all of this, but she decided it was too late to turn back now. Natalya was thinking back to all the evidence they had pulled out of Yong Soo and Jia Long when something out in the courtyard caught her eye. Her heart sped up when she instantly recognized that annoying smile.

Deshad Hiranandani.

However, he wasn't alone this time. A young… man, she supposed, for he wore men's clothing, but with his figure and the ponytail, she couldn't be sure- stood beside him, peering curiously into the window of her dorm. Natalya narrowed her eyes at them and raised the window. "What are you two doing here?" she demanded.

Deshad didn't reply but to wave her down. Darkening her glare, she complied. In a surely record-breaking fifteen seconds, she was outside, rushing towards them. "Where is my brother?"

"No hello again?" Deshad sighed. He shook his head disapprovingly, but perked back up almost instantly. "We come bearing another message from Ivan! He says he's leaving New York for a little while, but he'll be back. Thus, you need to stay here. Against his better judgment-" the Chinese man elbowed him, and Deshad stuck his tongue out at him "-he left us here to look out for you."

Natalya shook her head, aghast. "He wants you to _baby-sit _me? After all these years of living on my own, _now _he believes I need to be taken care of? There is no way. What are you really doing here? Has something happened to Ivan?"

The Chinese man finally decided to speak, regarding her with a sour frown. "Such an impertinent little thing you are. Don't you think there would be a good reason for his sending us here? Both your dean and your vampire watch dog are an ocean away. This place is highly under protected, and there are many beings that would enter because of this predicament. In fact, we've already sealed the perimeter to block out several malevolent spirits. More are sure to follow if-"

"_L-laosh__ī__?_"

The man started in shock at the voice. Natalya curiously turned around. It wasn't like Xiao Mei to skip class like this. Right now, she should have been Economics with Lars van Houten. But, against all the odds, Xiao Mei was here, staring in horror at the Chinese man. It wasn't her normal horrified look, either. This was something on entirely different level. It was as if she was looking at man she had long thought dead. Natalya turned back to the Chinese man, who wore nearly the same expression. It made her feel a little better when Deshad appeared to be just as confused at the exchange as her.

Xiao Mei ran past her in a flash. Before Natalya could reach out and grab her, Xiao Mei suddenly had her arms around the man's neck, her shoulders shaking with tears. Natalya and Deshad simultaneously flinched. Further taking them off guard, he hugged her back. It took Natalya a moment to realize Xiao Mei was talking, asking all kinds of questions. They each tugged at Natalya. "Where have you been? I- we thought you were _dead_, Yao! We searched for you for weeks, went all the way to China before Arthur caught us and pulled us back. I… I- Yao, _what happened to you?_"

Yao shook his head, merely holding her closer. "I'm sorry," he kept saying, over and over again. "I'm sorry."

Natalya looked to Deshad, but he merely shrugged. Still no idea, apparently.

"…How about we take this upstairs," Natalya slowly offered. Yao nodded, finally pulling away. His cheeks were red and wet, and Xiao Mei's undoubtedly looked the same.

It was a quiet walk back to the dorm.


	3. Part II, Chapter 2- The Fog

**A lot of the supernatural stuff in this chapter comes from a game called Year Walk, **_**which is awesome**_**. There are notes at the bottom regarding the legends mentioned!**

_**Part II, Chapter 2- The Fog**_

The notes were leading them further and further into the middle of nowhere.

The first, with the picture of the houses/faces, had eventually led them to a glen where a group of tiny trees grew in the middle of the field. Eerily, all trees had a face-like shape in their bark somewhere. At the foot of the trees lay their second note, which read: _Drip Drop_. Once they had calmed down Alfred and Yong Soo, Tavian found a trail of blood red flowers leading deeper into the woods. Since they didn't have anything else to go by, they followed the flowers' path to the third note, which put them on another path to the next, and so on. Finally, after nearly four hours' worth of walking, they arrived at the eighth note, hammered into a large tree trunk.

Alfred panicked upon finding this one, and, for the first time, the others shared the same sentiment. "Something is definitely wrong here," Alfred said, worriedly staring at the blank sheet of paper. Along with its lack of a clue, there were several other differences from the others they had collected. This note was thicker and older, colored yellowed and stained with age and weather. It was also slightly crinkled, as if it had been crumpled up and then straightened out again later.

Frowning, Arthur ripped it off of the nail. When he flipped it over, they noticed it wasn't as blank as previously thought. In faded, smeared black ink was a tiny arrow pointing up. Alfred slapped his hands over his eyes. "There's going to be a dead body. _There's always a dead body in the tree._"

"Huh," Tavian snorted. "Alfie's right for once."

Just one peek up at the dangling corpse, and Alfred's eyes rolled back in his head. When he hit the ground, his eyes snapped back open. He sat back up, rubbing the back of his head. "Ah, my head," he groaned with a thick Southern accent. "What'd this moron smack inta now?"

"Hello, Isaiah," Arthur politely nodded. "I'm glad you could join us. We're currently in Northern Germany. Or we may have already crossed the Danish border. Either way, we are currently at a standstill in our investigation until someone unties the moldy body above us."

Isaiah cocked an eyebrow, eyes flickering up. He riled back in disgust. "Good Lord! Ain't never seen a man that blue! How long d'you think the poor man's been up there?"

Once Yong Soo, Kiku, Jia Long, and Emil had satisfied their morbid curiosity and fought off the ensuing sick feeling, they, along with Arthur and Isaiah, looked to Tavian, still peering up at the body in mild interest. It took him a moment to realize they were staring. He bared his teeth. "No way. I am _not _messing with that thing. You guys can kick me around as much as you want because you're hunters and I'm a stupid vampire, but you _cannot _make me mess with the dead guy."

"You handle dead stuff all the time!" Yong Soo accused.

"Yeah, dead paranormal creatures! They're pretty much smarter, more bloodthirsty animals, though! This guy," Tavian gestured, "was once very much human. So was I. It would be terribly rude for me, who perfectly knows and shares his pain of being dead, to defile his body by-"

Arthur impatiently cleared his throat. Tavian cut himself short. Grumbling Romanian obscenities under his breath, he jumped up into the tree and deftly untied the noose. He didn't bother to warn those below of the body's fall, but they managed to jump back in time. Tavian jumped back down, a sour pout etched on his face. Isaiah apologetically shrugged. "If it makes ya feel any better, Mr. Tavian, I'm dead too."

He only gave a tight sigh in response.

Nose crinkling at the gory sight before him, Arthur knelt down next to the body. The poor bloke was only recently dead, for he hadn't decomposed very much. Arthur's lips curled in disgust as he gingerly pulled off the man's jacket. Yong Soo made a repulsed noise, and it only worsened Arthur's discomfort. He swallowed heavily and dug through the pockets. There had to be another clue somewhere on the man. Arthur shied away from the idea that this was simply a foreshadowing of Nikolaus's fate. He irritably mentally berated himself for thinking such a thing. Nikolaus was perfectly fine, wherever he was. If Slenderman had gone through all the trouble of leading them here, surely he must still be alive.

Arthur refused to dare think otherwise.

Finally, his fingers grazed something metal in the man's jacket. He wrapped his fingers around the hilt of a blade. Emil immediately took it from him, staring at it in shock. "This is part of the same collection as my weapons," he murmured. He handed the blade back to Arthur and immediately set to pulling out the axe he had packed in his (now quite filthy) suitcase. He took it back and laid it next to his axe. "Scandinavian in origin, relates back to pretty late B.C. My brother found this on a Danish beach while he was visiting his… er, girlfriend."

"Uh… Nikolaus?" Yong Soo slowly asked.

Emil embarrassedly bit his lip. "Um… no. Abel. Uh, we don't… really talk anymore. Anyway. He told me these were crafted for use during Ragnarok. Judging by the designs and craftsmanship, these were likely made with Loki in mind. They're light and small, so they're used for quick attacks. From what Nikolaus and I gather, that was Loki's style when he was forced to fight hand-to-hand combat."

Arthur also knelt next to the weapons, frown deepening on his face. This certainly was not good news for anyone, let alone Nikolaus. After a long moment's thought, he stood with a grim air. The kids, Tavian, and Isaiah looked to him with apprehension. "I don't think we're dealing with Slenderman after all," he murmured. He picked up the knife and small axe, peering carefully at them. "I hope I am wrong about this, but I believe we may have just stumbled upon something ancient. Something I haven't seen in several years…."

"It's as much as I told you, da?"

Even Tavian flinched at the voice, echoing from behind them. He riled up in fear, for he hadn't even noticed the tall man wander up behind them. Arthur nodded to him, telling him it was quite alright. Ivan wasn't going to harm them. "Who's Ivan?" Tavian asked instead.

The Russian sweetly smiled, gesturing to himself. "You cannot see the resemblance? I am Natalya's older brother. Anyway," he began, smile dipping as he addressed Arthur, "it seems we have both been led to the same location. The faceless spirit stole one of my comrades, as I am to believe it stole one of yours?"

"Nikolaus, yes," Arthur said, cutting off Emil's angry, "What do you know about that?" The dean ignored him. "I suppose we will end up working together after all, Mr. Braginski. Though I do not expect this to become a regular thing between us."

Ivan seemed quite content with that anyway, and soon was examining the weapons with Arthur. Tavian was horribly confused. Ivan _Braginski?_ Wasn't Natalya's last name Arlovskaya? And now that he thought about it… the name "Ivan Braginski" seemed familiar to him, as though he had heard it before. Where had he heard it? Certainly not from Arthur- they never talked about "business" unless it concerned the school's safety. But somewhere, definitely….

If his blood still circulated, it would have ran cold. Trying to keep his panic subdued, he grabbed Yong Soo and Isaiah's sleeves, jerking his head forward to pull Kiku, Jia Long, and Emil away with them. Out of Arthur's earshot, a sizeable distance away, Tavian nodded hopelessly to Ivan. "Have any of you ever heard of this guy? Ivan Braginski?" At the shaking of their heads, he quietly burst, "He's on Arthur's level! If not _higher!_ I heard some people talking about him one day, and they said he _regularly _took on Wendigos, Vampires, and Jinns. _Jinns!_ The last time I ran into one of those jerks- actually, I can't really tell you guys that story. It's too gory. Needless to say, it took a _lot _of shredding before it finally stopped moving. Ugh. Stupid magic-based beings…."

"What is Mr. Braginski doing here, then?" Kiku asked, warily looking him over out of the corner of his eye. "More pressing, what did he mean by being Natalya-san's brother? She told me she had no family. Is it possible he is lying to get our trust…?"

"Of course Natalya is my sister."

Kiku flinched yet again at Ivan's ever-gleeful voice. He immediately set to apologizing, but Ivan merely laughed it off. "It's alright. It has been a very long time since Natalya and I were together. Eight years, if I'm correct. She uses her foster parents' family name because it is easier to get around. If people knew she was my little sister, she would have as many enemies as I have, if not more. So I am happy she denies our family name."

There seemed to be something to Ivan's smile, however, that Kiku noticed when he finally stopped bowing. It wasn't threatening, but it was not friendly, either. He quietly resolved to keep an eye on this Ivan Braginski regardless of whether or not he was Arthur's acquaintance and Natalya's brother. If Tavian was correct (which, unfortunately, he almost always was), Ivan would not be one to be taken lightly in a fight.

But of course, Kiku did not take defeat easily, no matter his opponent. It was his perseverance that marked his high status rather than the Honda name. Like Yong Soo and his family, the Hondas were famous for their mastery over ill omens and malevolent spirits. Kiku was too humble to ever admit it, but he was an expert in dealing with such things. As an expert, Kiku found it odd that a spirit, as Slenderman was thought to be, would act so peculiarly. If it truly was a spirit, it was a very strong one. Their advantage in numbers would definitely be an asset to their fight, should it arise. Hopefully, they could appease the spirit without the use of force, but such things could not be expected.

"I believe there may be a connection between the knife and our friends' location," Ivan suddenly said. "You mentioned your brother had found this?"

Emil went pale.

((((()))))

Much to his disappointment, Abel was _glad _to help. Emil stood against the tree, wincing at every word his brother threw out at him. Actually, "glad" was too weak a word. Abel was ecstatic. "Hillevi will be so glad to finally meet you! We've been practicing her breathing-above-the-water skills, so you might get to have a conversation!"

Emil miserably groaned when Arthur gave him a strange look. Covering the end of the phone, Emil finally explained, "My brother's girlfriend is a _Sjörå_- a mermaid. Nikolaus and I _really_ don't like to talk about it."

"…How can they even speak to each other?" Jia Long murmured. Mermaids could only properly speak underwater, where the harsh vibrations of their vocal chords spread harmlessly through the water. One word from a mermaid above water could easily kill an animal with sensitive ears, such as a dog. Over time, their voices could do damage to human ears too.

"My brother's an idiot," Emil grumbled. "No, no, I wasn't talking about you, Abel. No, not Berwald either. WE ARE _NOT_ CALLING BERWALD AND TINO. ABEL, SO HELP ME, IF YOU GET THEM DRAGGED INTO THIS-"

If Abel got Berwald and Tino, living peacefully in Sweden and Finland, involved in their underground shenanigans, Emil was going to rip his head off. It was already bad enough that he had to meet that stupid _sjörå_, and that Nikolaus had tried to Year Walk. Emil was only glad he hadn't been caught by the _Kyrkogrimen_. If he had, there was a good chance he would have died. The _Kyrkogrimen_- and, for that matter, the _skogsfru _huldras- were not very friendly to those stupid enough to look into their world and see the future.

Wait a minute.

"Abel, I've got to go," Emil hurriedly said, rudely hanging up on him but not caring in the least. Whirling on Yong Soo, he snapped, "What did Slenderman look like? _Exactly?_ Did he have a tail?"

"A _tail?_" Yong Soo incredulously. "Emil, we're not dealing with a werewolf or an _abumi-guchi_. You heard Alfred- this is definitely Slenderman's work."

"Maybe not," Arthur murmured, seeming to share Emil's sudden realization. "After all, most of the information we gathered came from paranormal sites about as honest as Tavian."

The vampire indignantly called out on that _completely untrue _slander. All of his stories were factually correct! He only barely edited some details to make them more interesting, but that wasn't an excuse to call him a liar.

They continued none the less, and Tavian was left once again to mope by himself. Arthur and Emil looked back at the tree, where their friend had hanged himself. Unless something else had taken that pleasure. It was a common story- well, not so much these days, since the separation between the underground and upperground were widening- in all of the Nordic countries. Someone stumbles into a remote part of a forest, ticks off a huldra or huldrekan, and meets their early demise. Since this forest was so remote, there was a possibly this could have been the case. Besides, the autumn equinox was nearing, so the huldra would be wide awake and irritable as always. But for a huldrekan with no face to come all the way to New York after Nikolaus was disturbing to think about. Just what had Nikolaus been doing to anger them? Did it have something to do with the weapons?

Nikolaus hadn't accepted the axe when Abel first attempted to give it to him. He was never one for fighting anyway, and Emil would better benefit from having it.

What if he had foreseen something regarding them when he Year Walked, and now the Kyrkogrimen had sent the huldrekan after him? But why would Ivan be here, if that was case? Had his "friend" also Year Walked? Unless he was from around here, Emil thought that unlikely. Year Walking was a mostly unknown practice few rarely attempted nowadays. Ten years ago, when Nikolaus had tried it, he had only heard the basics of it from a book at the library. Those were old days, when they were all still ignorant of what lived in the nature around them. He followed the legend, avoiding everyone and everything for twenty four hours, not eating. When it was midnight, Emil remembered watching him sneak outside from the top of the stairs.

He hadn't been scared, but it still worried him, watching Nikolaus walk farther and farther into the snowy woods.

This time, though, Emil was positive he was afraid. Especially since reaching this conclusion (or not, but it seemed much more likely than a probably fictional internet monster).

"We're going to have to meet up with Abel," Emil sighed. "His sjörå girlfriend better know something, or I'm tempted to drag her on ground and let her suffocate. She's probably just using him to pick up litter, anyway." Miserable, he began his weary march north.

((((()))))

Natalya felt such a pang for her brother since Xiao Mei and Yao finally sat down to talk. Deshad fidgeted nervously, finding himself awkwardly wandering around their dorm during their heart-to-heart. Natalya didn't care if she was rude, staring at them. It was already made obvious that they weren't family, but rather close friends. "Laoshī", Xiao Mei explained, meant teacher. Before her family found out about the academy, they hired a private tutor to teach her the workings of hunting while her parents were away on business. It had also been Kiku, Jia Long, and Yong Soo's parents' idea. They used to spend entire summers in China, fighting each other and learning new tricks under Yao's watchful eye.

All of them had decided to treat each other as the family they were never that close to. Yao was their big brother and father in certain situations, and Xiao Mei had been the perfect older sister. Their summers in China were the best she had ever had.

The words nailed into Natalya. She hadn't ever had that kind of relationship with anyone- not even her real brother or foster parents. The last time she had "fun" was when she was a little girl. Before the scarred, blue Wendigo killed her parents and Katyusha, they used to have family outings to the park. Whenever it was Katyusha's turn to do the shopping, Natalya would go with her, because Katyusha always bought her candy as they were leaving.

She couldn't remember much more. Afterwards, she was only with Ivan a few months before he left on his path for revenge, leaving her with a family in nearby Belarus. Her parents there were loving and great, but Natalya knew that there were monsters that would take them away from her in an instant. It was this fear that kept her distant from them. That was the only way she could eventually leave them to follow Ivan.

Xiao Mei finally blurted out the question Yao had no doubt been dreading. "What happened to you? You came to the academy with us, but you disappeared. Arthur said you hadn't told him anything, and Tavian didn't see you go."

It took him a moment to answer. "…I had other obligations," he admitted. Natalya looked back to Deshad, who had finally stopped pacing. He now leaned against the door, arms crossed and face downcast. Apparently he and Ivan were the obligations. But how would he have known Ivan? Had they worked together before?

"I… can't tell you that," he apologetically shrugged. "But it's for both your safety and the school's. And Xiao Mei, I'm sorry I couldn't tell you anything more. Rest assured, Deshad, Ivan, and I are taking care of everything for you."

"But you told me that small groups could not take on large foes," she stubbornly insisted. Xiao Mei's hands lay folded in her lap, but they were starting to tremble. "In all of our lessons, you had us work together so that we could defeat our targets quickly and efficiently. If your 'obligations' are that important, there is no way you and two others can succeed."

Yao pursed his lips, trying his hardest to bite back his hot remark. She had listened well to him, and now he was paying the price. But even if he was made a hypocrite, Yao could not change his mind. Ominous workings were at hand- not just in New York, the center of it all, but also in the most sensitive places on earth. The ley lines were suddenly busy trafficking spots for the deceased, and old monsters were beginning to awake from their slumber. If he got Xiao Mei or any of the others involved, it would be their certain doom.

"You have no reason to worry so much," Yao said lowly. "The three of us will be more than able to defeat this threat. We are experts in our fields, working alongside other trustworthy friends. So we are not truly alone."

"You're going to disappear again."

Even Natalya dropped her gaze to the floor at that tone. Xiao Mei didn't waver, however. She stiffly stood. She struggled with her words a moment before bowing lowly. "If this is the end to my teachings, then I humbly thank you, _Laosh__ī_. I will remember what you have taught me, and graciously allow us to go our separate ways."

Yao bowed back. "It has been my utmost pleasure being your teacher, Lin Xiao Mei. I thank you for the opportunity."

When they both raised, they did not meet each others' eyes. Xiao Mei stood silently, facing the wall. Yao walked back to Deshad. "It's time we left," he simply said.

Deshad nodded.

Natalya wasn't going to let them leave it at that. "Wait a minute," she called. Natalya nervously looked back to Xiao Mei, then back to the solemn duo. "You said that for the time being you will remain here, watching over the school. My brother told you to. You should have enough time to review a few lessons with Xiao Mei, shouldn't you?"

The Taiwanese girl started in shock. "Wh-what? Natalya-"

"The one I learned from Ivan was that you cannot stop learning more. Of course, I didn't hear this from him personally, but I'd like to believe that I got the message. Sometimes I suspect that his travels were not necessarily due to tracking the Wendigo, but as an opportunity to introduce me to new things. Several times I picked up his trail, but not the monster's. I'm sure Xiao Mei has done the same thing- learning more even without your help. Even so, hearing it all again is more valuable than self-taught knowledge. Surely you can-"

Natalya's breath was suddenly squeezed out of her by one of Xiao Mei's constricting hugs. She swung her back and forth, letting out a squeal of glee. "Thank you, Natalya!" She zoomed back to Yao's side. "Even you can't argue with that logic, _Lao- _er, Yao! So come ooooon! I've tons of cool stuff I have to show you! Just the other day, Jia Long and I…."

She finally sighed when Xiao Mei's voice finally faded down the hallway. Deshad elbowed her, getting a hiss in response. He laughed it off. "I never would have expected you to be so sweet, Miss Arlovskaya! Why, that was the nicest thing I've ever seen."

"Shut up," she snapped, shoving him out into the hall. "Go eat a mango or something."

"Hey, now that was ra-"

Natalya did not feel a hint of remorse as she slammed the door shut in his face.

((((()))))

They didn't have much farther to walk before the trees began thinning and the ground became grainier and mushier. In the distance, Emil could faintly hear the soft hiss of waves sliding into the shore and pulling back out to sea. It reminded him of home.

"HEEEEEEEEEY!"

Emil suddenly remembered why he _left_ home. Waving largely from out in the sea was Abel. Luckily, he hadn't been dense enough to go into the water wearing just shorts, but it was still stupid to wear jeans and a jacket in the ocean. When he started sloshing his way ashore, Emil embarrassedly covered his face. "Emil!" Abel happily cried, running over to him. He gathered him into a bone-crushing hug, immediately soaking him. "You've gotten taller!" he burst, finally pulling back. Emil could have started crying in embarrassment. Every time he had the displeasure of meeting his brother, this happened.

Emil was _not _getting taller. He had been at the same height for three years now. There was no more growing to be done! But Emil didn't say this aloud, because, despite everything, he still loved his brother. Abel was the biggest knucklehead to walk the earth, but he did try to be a decent older brother. Plus, living with the mermaid apparently hadn't driven him crazy yet. That had to mean something, right?

"So, you called about the axe I found, right?" he asked, getting down to business. The ecstasy was still present in his booming voice, however. Another thing about Abel was how _nothing_ could ruin his good mood. Well… learning that Nikolaus was most likely abducted by a huldrekan would probably change that, but the less he knew the better.

Emil nodded. "Yeah. We found a dagger that matched the patterns, and we were wondering if you o-or Hillevi would know anything about it."

"…You found a dagger?" Abel repeated. He thoughtfully considered this before shouting, "Leeeeeeeeevi!" Emil winced at the sheer volume he reached. Abel could match even Alfred's yelling, and that took some serious talent. Emil and the others turned to the ocean where a dark blue fish tail splashed through the water. Near the coast, Hillevi popped her head out. Even though she was _sj__örå_ thus inherently evil, Emil had to admit she was pretty. Her hair was the same navy as her tail, but her eyes were a piercing golden color framed with long lashes. To ruin her gorgeous look, she wore a soaked band t-shirt. Hillevi happily waved. Emil blandly returned the gesture.

Abel trotted back over to her. "Hillevi, may I introduce my little brother Emil and his friends! Emil and Emil's friends, Hillevi!"

She cleared her throat. Everyone had their fingers at the ready, except Ivan, contently smiling as always. In a light, rippling voice, she quietly sang, "It's a pleasure to meet you all."

Emil was impressed. She hadn't given him a splitting headache. Maybe Abel's speech lessons were paying off? But it still didn't change the fact that she was a mermaid and he was Abel Malhaussen. This wasn't a matter of "forbidden love"- it was dangerous. Abel refused to listen to Nikolaus or Emil, though. He stubbornly remained with Hillevi, swearing to stay by her side forever. Emil just hoped that was him talking, and not Hillevi's _sjörå_ influence.

Arthur presented them with both the axe and the dagger, wearing that perfect poker face of his. Emil suspected he shared the same apprehensions as him. Hillevi closely inspected them, curling up to Abel's side. "This is the work of the huldra," she said, voice slightly cracking. She cleared her throat again before scooping up some water to swallow. "My apologies."

"No, it's quite alright," Arthur smiled. "Is there any chance you'd know why the huldra crafted these?"

She nervously flicked her webbed fingers in the sand. Abel nodded encouragingly to her. "…There is a legend that has been foretold, many years ago, when I was young." Hillevi's voice cracked at the end, and her normal high pitched scream broke out. She gulped up some more water and apologized again. "Many, many years ago," she added, to make sure they got the point. At Arthur's nod, she continued. "The spirits and wild things stir at Its arrival. The huldra know there will be one of the destined to arrive on these shores. They crafted weapons to help them."

Hillevi's voice was beginning to reach that earsplitting pitch, but she continued, almost in a panic. "They must gather here-" Even Arthur slightly cried out at the shriek. "-and obtain the weapons. They must fight It off. Darkness is approaching, and It is fighting Its way to the surface."

She was gasping now, and the bits of her face and arms were beginning to dry out. Arthur bit his lip. "That's enough, Hillevi. You don't have to exert yourself because of us."

Her voice could no longer handle speaking softly. Her words came out in nearly illegible shrills, but Emil tried his hardest to hold out and understand. "_I believe it is one of you who is destined to fight_," she gulped. "_The huldrekan arm themselves for the fight. But we cannot do much. Only those chosen can fight It. Only they can win. Only they can-_"

Try as she might, Hillevi could not form any more words. Only screams came from her throat. She shook her head apologetically before sliding back under the waves. She popped her arm up to wave goodbye. Abel shouted his farewell back, promising to bring her some more sushi later.

"Sushi?" Kiku asked.

"She's carnivorous," Abel explained with a dreamy sigh.

Emil groaned. He quickly got everyone back on track. "Abel, what was she talking about? What are the huldrekan readying to fight?"

He shrugged, lips slipping down into a frown. He looked back out at the ocean worriedly. "She's never mentioned it before, and you know I don't get involved in a lot of stuff like this. But… I think you should try and talk to Berwald about it."

"Abel, you _know _Berwald and Tino aren't into this kind of thing. They've never seen anything from underground."

Abel gaped. "Wait a minute, you didn't hear about them finding the _mylingen? _Tino hunts yetis with a sniper rifle now! _Berwald mounts his kills in the living room_."

Emil was so done. With everything. _Forever._ He tiredly sighed, feeling the sleepless hours catch up to him. He clasped his hands together. "You know what? Whatever. We'll just go to the nearest church, lure out the local Kyrkogrimen, and use it to see where Nikolaus is. Come on, guys. And please keep the weapons drawn."

Letting out a screech of terror, Abel grabbed Emil's shoulder, yanking him back. "YOU CAN'T CONSULT THE KYRKOGRIMEN! HE'LL STEAL YOUR SOUL AND YOU'LL BE FORCED TO SERVE HIM! And what happened to Nikolaus?"

Although that was a very high possibility, Emil had nothing else to go on. The only sure way to find Nikolaus without wandering through a forest for weeks, hoping to stumble upon a huldra, was to summon and speak with the Kyrkogrimen. If the underground was stirring with the arrival of whatever Hillevi was talking about, surely the Kyrkogrimen could easily appear after taking the right steps. Of course, it was difficult to make the Kyrkogrimen cooperate. It was the main reason people died on Year Walks. Only a select few would be favored by the Kyrkogrimen and allowed to see the future. Hopefully Emil would make a good first impression.

If not… there was always the possibility of death or, even worse, having your soul stolen and being forced to serve the Kyrkogrimen for a year. After which, no one is quite sure what befalls you. People tend to speculate that it is _not _good, though.

Even with the dire risks involved in this, Emil had to try. He couldn't let Nikolaus stay lost forever. Abel, Berwald, and Tino would try to go after him, and they weren't nearly as experienced- sniper rifle or no. Besides, he had Arthur and Tavian with him (and three highly trained Asian hunters). Plus Ivan, but Emil wasn't sure if he could depend on the creepy, smiling Russian guy. He would be okay. Abel still didn't seem convinced, even after Arthur backed up his assertions, but finally released his clawed grip on Emil's shoulder.

"I want you to call me as soon as you've Nikolaus, alright?" he solemnly asked. Emil slightly edged away, uncomfortable with seeing his brother so serious all of a sudden. He nodded. "Good. Be safe and decapitate anything that tries to steal your soul."

"The Kyrkogrimen isn't exactly corporeal," Emil reminded him.

Abel was undeterred. "Just listen to my awesome advice. You can save the backtalk for Nikolaus. Have fun, guys!"

His advice wasn't exactly "awesome", but Emil wasn't able to completely hide his smile. "Of course. Thanks, _bróðir_."

**Notes~**

**For some explanation about the creatures Emil mentioned: A sjörå is pretty much a mermaid, but is actually a kind of huldra, which is like a shape-shifting nymph that acts like a siren (i.e., lures over guys so she can steal them away). However, legend states that if politeness and respect are shown to huldras, they give out good luck and fortune. The skogsfru is one such huldra which lives in the forests. There's also a bergsrå that lives in caves and tunnels. Although most legends have huldras as women, there are other stories where there are males, called huldrekan. **

**Year Walking was an old Scandinavian tradition where a person would remain in darkness for twenty four hours without eating, then leave at midnight on New Year's Eve or some other special day when the "other side" could be accessed. If they managed to survive the trip, they would meet the Kyrkogrimen, or Church Gremlin, and look into the future. As far as I know, it isn't practiced very much anymore.**

**Mylingen are the ghosts of aborted babies in Sweden. Other spirits usually take them in, but a lot wander around, looking for their mothers. There's a legend that states that if you help them cross over to the other side, they'll leave you an extravagant gift.**

**An abumi-guchi is a furry mountain spirit in Japanese folklore, but we'll get more into that in Part III. **


	4. Part II, Chapter 3- The Fog

**APH1168kittens: You don't have to watch Supernatural to really understand the story. The only thing that's really similar to the show is Natalya's history (which is kinda the same as Sam and Dean's, with Katyusha being their mother, and Ivan kinda being their dad) but I've even changed that a bit. Also, the brothers travel around a lot fighting supernatural stuff, which everyone does in this story. I'm trying to use spirits and monsters that weren't in the show, like the Kyrkogrimen and Huldrekan. But still, Supernatural is pretty awesome, so you should watch it sometime anyway!**

**I hope everyone had a great Father's Day!**

_**Part II, Chapter 3- The Fog**_

The sky was beginning to grow dark. Although it was nearing twilight, the time of day when spirits begin stretching their creeping, quiet way into the night with the fleeting light at their backs, the setting sun wasn't all that illuminated the spotless, dark granite Nikolaus stood on, nor was advancing shade the only thing that nipped at his own shadow. Six shimmering, blinding pillars of light proudly faced the growing mass of darkness encroaching upon the floor and walls, engulfing everything into pitch black. Everything succumbed to this eldritch presence- the stars, the twilight, even Nikolaus when he found he couldn't outrun it.

A heavy weight shoved him to the ground, now deathly cold. He gasped in a shocked, shuddering breath. He hadn't felt this kind of cold before- not on the coldest days spent in Norway, not even on his lonely year walk so many years ago. Nikolaus discovered he wasn't the only one overpowered by the darkness, as he wildly searched for the pillars of light. Surely they hadn't fallen victim too? A young girl with bobbed blonde hair wearing a simple farmers' dress, an elderly man dressed for Roman war, another curvier girl wearing overalls and a headband, along with several others, had also been forced to submit.

Nikolaus didn't recognize any of them- until his eyes landed on Matthew Williams.

He wasn't quite sure what this feeling of horror could be accurately called. It was far more than shock or terror. Nikolaus tried to call out to the motionless, pale, glassy-eyed boy, but his breath stopped short in his throat, instead causing him to choke on his words.

He found he couldn't breathe at all in the suffocating darkness. Nikolaus gagged and strangled on nothing until finally he felt his consciousness slipping away. The void around him began to swirl and mash together with the bursts of blinding light that reverberated through it, sending shockwaves rippling across the floors and walls. It lit up the scattered people, made Matthew's lifeless eyes glow for the briefest moment.

It all came crashing into broken shards as he finally heard a soft breath.

Nikolaus blinked his eyes and found himself back in the small church, sitting on the familiar wooden pew. There was nothing to be said to the cloaked, faceless figure standing before him. The Kyrkogrimen didn't need words. The vision was enough. Nikolaus swallowed hard, trying to sort through the scattered images in his mind. What was the source of that darkness? What were the lights, and who were those other people?

His head reeled as his chest exploded with pain, doubling him over. Witnessing his second vision from the Kyrkogrimen must have demanded a high price. "I can't join you yet," Nikolaus rasped, fingers digging into his chest, futilely trying to calm his erratic heart. "What's the point of showing me that if I can't warn them first?"

The Kyrkogrimen tilted its head, and the pain abruptly stopped. Nikolaus coughed, wiping away the splatters of blood that came with it. His narrowed his eyes at the sight and had the sinking thought that his days were now cut shorter than before. Flickering his scowl back to the Kyrkogrimen, he pushed himself out of his seat, forced to hang onto the pew lest his knees buckle and he fall. "Where are they?" he asked, trying to shake the queasiness away. It was no use, though. The longer he stood, the dizzier he felt, but Nikolaus certainly was not sissy enough to let something like _that _get in his way.

At its silent point, Nikolaus looked behind him to see the door to the church slam open. Several guns, an axe, and a loud screech immediately followed. His rescuers took a moment to stare at Alfred (Isaiah?) before re-donning their battle faces. "Ya'll gotta have a rebel yell 'fore a battle," Isaiah dejectedly mumbled. His eyes suddenly went wide before fluttering closed. Arthur barely caught him in time before he fell. Seconds later, he wearily blinked. Alfred screeched, jumping away from Arthur. "WHAT THE HECK, DUDE? I DID NOT ASK FOR A BRO HUG FROM _YOU._"

"Can it, Jones, we're about to fight a Kyrkogrimen," Arthur scoffed, shoving him out of the way. Alfred finally took in the sight of the faceless Kyrkogrimen and released a second earsplitting scream.

"Shut up!" Nikolaus irritably snapped, slightly wincing as his previously unnoticeable dull headache blossomed into a very prominent migraine. "Everybody calm down. The Kyrkogrimen is working with the forest to help you all. It gave me another vision-" Nikolaus swayed a moment, wooziness momentarily throwing him off balance. He tightened his grim on the pew and steeled himself. More slowly, he explained, "Something big is coming that is threatening their world as well as ours."

A light chuckle echoed through the church. Ivan cheerfully shoved past Yong Soo, who flinched out of his way, and Arthur, who sent him a curt glare. Ignoring Alfred's hiss to keep _away _from Slenderman (which caused everyone to sigh), Ivan marched right up to the Kyrkogrimen, completely ignoring Nikolaus. "You are the one who has the information I am looking for?"

The Kyrkogrimen shot out a hand aimed for his heart, but Ivan was faster. He grabbed its hand and flipped it over his shoulder, sending it face forward into the old wooden floor. In one fluid moment, he drew a sword from under his thick trench coat and stomped on its back, pinning it. "It's a sin to kill, da? One would think you would know better than to try something like that in a _church._ Tell me, Mr. Kyrkogrimen, where did your pretty puppets hide my weapons?"

"…That escalated quickly," Yong Soo muttered.

Arthur smacked the back of his head. "Ivan, what is this nonsense?"

"Nonsense?" he asked, owlishly blinking innocent eyes. "My dear Mr. Kirkland, you know as well as I do that my business here is not nonsense. You know just how dire this situation is, and how important it is that I find the correct weapons to arm my soldiers with."

Grim, Arthur tightened his grip on his gun and knife. He nodded towards Nikolaus. "Emil, help your brother. Yong Soo, Jia Long, I need you to take Alfred back to Abel so he can explain the situation to him. Kiku, Tavian, please call Gilbert and ask him to tighten the security at the school. Anyone found to be trespassing on school grounds is to be immediately secured in my office until we return."

Ivan giggled. "You believe your silly hunters will stand a chance against Deshad and Yao? Your faith truly is misplaced, Arthur." When the Kyrkogrimen struggled, Ivan stabbed into its back. "Please do not interrupt. It is terribly rude."

"Did you say Yao?" Jia Long perked up.

"Be careful," Nikolaus warned. He simply waved him and Emil outside with the others.

Arthur shut the church doors behind them, cutting him off from their aid. This was just as he had suspected. Echoing Arthur's thoughts, Ivan asked, "If you knew I was just using you to lead me to the Kyrkogrimen, why did you allow me to follow you? Could it be that you _do _want to help me?"

"Not at all, Mr. Braginski. I've already given you my answer regarding your bloody mission. Simply put, I wished to gauge your resolve. I now realize you will blindly do anything in order to get your way. Do you not realize that by harming the Kyrkogrimen, you've endangered your soul?"

"My soul is least important thing right now, Arthur," he lowly intoned. "I need those weapons, or more people will be endangered to lose far worse than their souls."

"You need those weapons so you can clean up the sodding mess you made!"

Ivan's smile finally dipped. Before Arthur could even register the change in expression, Ivan had drawn a knife and sent it flying in his direction. Arthur easily knocked it out of the way. His shoes squeaked as he ran at him, emptying a round into his chest. At least, that was what he had been aiming for until Ivan jerked the pew in front of him and ducked. Arthur just barely caught himself from cursing aloud- after all, he _was _still in a church. Curbing his tongue, he reached out to slash at Ivan-

But instead of connecting with that obnoxious smile, Arthur sliced through thin air. He gritted his teeth as the church melded into a different, somewhat familiar setting, hiding Ivan and the Kyrkogrimen within the illusion. Arthur _really _hated this kind of blasted illusionary magic. With a tight sigh, he lowered his knife and gun.

"_I find it odd that you haven't once called me a bloody wanker today. You haven't came down with fever, have you, _mon ami?_"_

The voice sent racking shudders though him. Arthur snapped his head around, eyes wide in horror.

There, half hidden in the twilight shadows, sat the awful blonde he hadn't seen in well over five years. No… it was far longer than that. A slightly younger Arthur sat beside him, tiredly leaning against the wide tree they had taken shelter under. The storm was a terrifying one, but it didn't faze either of them in the slightest. The thunder, however, did make them flinch, reminding them of the sound of all too familiar bombing. Arthur rubbed his arms, trying to shake the memories away. He did not have time to watch this. He had more pressing matters to attend to in the present-

"_Shut up, you bloody wanker. Have you got any brandy left?"_

"_Of course not," _he irritably replied. _"We drank the last of my alcohol days ago. Besides, this is not the time to become so inebriated that you cannot see straight."_

"_Don't see why not. I'd rather be drunk when I die so I can't feel it."_

"_What would Victoria think if she were here right now, listening to your self pity?"_

Both past and present Arthur flinched at the admonition. He swallowed hard, forcing himself to advert his eyes. Perhaps if he focused hard enough, he could break through the enchantment and relieve himself of this misery. Arthur had done it countless times before, so this time shouldn't have been any different.

Except this time, he couldn't get himself to focus. His mind kept straying back to the memory, tugging at his body to turn around and yell the two of them to run before _it _came. Arthur knew they couldn't hear him- they didn't even exist! Still, the urge to at least _try _nearly overpowered him.

He heard the faint growl and, shattering everything, tears pooled in his eyes. "You fools!" he burst, helplessly waving to the soldiers, still unaware of the horror about to befall them. "You have to go! You'll be-"

When the first tree came crashing down, they finally jumped to attention, drawing their guns. Not that it would help them. The monstrous beast- at least eight feet tall, muscular, covered in a thick icy blue fur- bounded into the clearing. Before Arthur or the blonde could scream, its claws raked across the blonde's chest, shredding him to pieces.

Arthur shouted out and rushed at the fake monster- which he later learned to be a Wendigo, pounding on its back. "Stop! Stop it!"

"_STOP!"_

A searing heat blossomed in Arthur's chest. In the next moment, it was replaced with a crippling pain, sending him crashing to his knees. The memory flickered back to the church for the briefest moment, where Ivan stood with sword drawn behind the Krykogrimen lunging for Arthur. The Wendigo's agonized wail brought the illusion back full-force. Arthur forced willed himself to get back to the present, but the two new figures before him prevented that. The long haired woman in the green maid's dress lifted her hands high. Arthur, the dark haired man accompanying the woman, and Arthur's past self looked up to the sky at the gathering clouds. At her cry, she swung her arms towards the beast, dragging down thick and jagged lightning bolts.

The roaring Wendigo lashed out at her, but the man moved too quickly, taking the blow himself.

"_Roderich!" _she wailed, dropping to his side. The Wendigo readied to attack once more. The woman snapped around to Arthur, futilely trying to shake his comrade awake, and shouted what sounded like nonsense. Both past and present Arthur called out as the Wendigo stabbed its claws into her. It turned to Arthur, but a bright light had enveloped him. He was gone before it could slash at him.

The woman gasped in a strangled breath, flopping her head over to Arthur. Wet eyes bore into his, cutting Arthur's breath short. This… this was an illusion, he shakily assured himself. She couldn't possibly-

"You have to live," she rasped. She coughed, spitting up blood. The Wendigo turned back to her. She gritted her teeth and reached out for Arthur. "_You have to live!_"

Arthur's eyes snapped open, taking in the Kyrkogrimen's seemingly slow motion jab towards his heart. He swung up his gun and shot at it while Ivan stabbed into it again. The Kyrkogrimen stopped, clawed fingers grazing Arthur's shirt. It lifted its head.

Almost impossibly, their faces flashed before him. "Roderich", the woman, and…. It paused on the blonde's smirking face. Arthur shuddered when the Kyrkogrimen spoke in his singsong voice. "Some brother in arms you are, _mon ami. _You broke the most important rule our general gave us. You ran away and left me for dead. You're a bigger coward than I am, Arthur."

"You are not Francis Bonnefoy," he snarled. He shut his eyes and fired his last bullet in his face.

Only when he heard the soft rustle of fabric did Arthur dare open his eyes. He wiped a quick sleeve across his face and glared up at Ivan, purposely ignoring the Kyrkogrimen's now empty suit. Its body had dissipated back into its world, there to remain for quite a long time. Arthur stood without accepting Ivan's offered help, stumbling from the tingling numbness. "I suppose you got what you came for, Mr. Braginski?"

To Arthur's surprise, Ivan frowned. "No," he muttered. "I did not receive a vision. You, however, seem to have witnessed _something._"

Arthur sat down on the holey pew, dropping his head. "It wasn't a vision of the future, I assure you."

"Are you sure?"

He clenched his fists, trying to get the woman's voice out of his head.

_You must live!_

"I am quite sure, Mr. Braginski," he tightly answered. "Now, if you will excuse me, I must see to your comrades wondering around my school."

"No need," Ivan curtly said, flipping out his phone. Arthur mentally grumbled to himself about the impossibility of texting so fast as he glowered at him. Moments later, Ivan hid his phone back in his pocket. "They will depart soon. And do not worry, Arthur. Deshad and Yao would not harm of the children. After all, Yao was once your comrade, da?"

"That was a _long _time ago."

Arthur could _feel _the urge to punch that smirk off of the Russian's face when he softly sang, "Apparently not _so _long ago for you." Ivan opened his mouth for another sly comment, but Arthur's fist moved faster than his words. Stumbling back, Ivan held his nose, now bleeding. Arthur fell to the floor, the Kyrkogrimen's effects still heavy over him.

Ivan knelt down next to him and snarled, "I do not think you fully understand what is happening, comrade. You have witnessed its powered already, _years _ago."

"I know more than you do," he spat, resting his forehead against the cool wood. It slightly eased his headache. "After all, I'm witness to its filthy deeds."

Silence prevailed through the desecrated church for what could have been minutes. Arthur didn't particularly care. If Ivan shut his mouth and took his words into consideration, perhaps Arthur could finally work on getting his head in order. That woman's voice kept flittering in and out of his consciousness along with Francis and Roderich's bloodied bodies. Arthur could feel the coldness run through his veins, leading to the heart he had hardened long ago. He could feel the cracks starting to widen, and he could not possibly allow that to happen. No matter what, he refused to let fear overtake him like it did with the Wendigo. He had to be ready to do whatever was necessary to protect those around him.

If it meant killing Ivan, he would do it.

If it meant breaking what little of Natalya's heart remained….

When Arthur finally heard Ivan's heavy footsteps lithely patter outside, he finally allowed himself to pull out his own phone. "Tavian?" he quietly asked after one ring and no hello. "Get the kids back home. I'll be there shortly."

He didn't bother to hear his reply, closing both his phone and eyes.

_You must live!_

This time, Arthur didn't care if he cursed.

((((()))))

Eduard von Bock adjusted his glasses, leaning back in his seat. He faintly grinned down at his flash drive, now well stocked with every byte of Arthur Kirkland's research to be found in the school system, along with other notes from Nikolaus Bondevik, Gilbert Beilschmit, and other professors. Hacking into the systems had been pitifully easy- what else was to be expected from a group of stupid hunters, minds filled only with knowledge of the supernatural? Jobs like these were almost a bore for Eduard, a graduate from MIT. He had been taught to hack into government databases, not this.

But, he reminded himself, grin disappearing, he didn't have a choice but to listen to Ivan. After "saving his life", as only Ivan called it, Eduard was indebted to him. Actually, it felt more like enslavement, but it wasn't like Eduard could argue. He knew all there was to know about technology. In regards to the underground, he was as ignorant as they came. Well, not completely ignorant, but he was by no means able to take care of himself with the hellhounds at his back.

He turned off the library computer and quietly scooted his chair back. As he passed by the librarian, he graciously thanked her. She wished him good luck on his English paper, none the wiser that he wasn't even a student here. Without Tavian and Arthur present, anyone could walk onto campus.

Eduard sat down on the library steps, sighing at the crowd Deshad and Yao had been able to gather. He rolled his eyes, just thinking of the outrageous spectacle those two had come up with this time. Another acrobatic routine? He wouldn't put it past them.

He scanned the excited crowd for anyone else that had snuck in unawares. Being fairly new to Ivan's merry band of freaks, he hadn't had the time to learn everyone's names, but he could recognize them based on appearances. Eduard finally found the Iranian sheik and the South African shaman- Darakhshan and Kafentse, maybe? Ah, who knows. Eduard didn't want to associate himself with anyone he didn't have to, so it didn't really matter.

What did matter, however, was the curious stare a blonde girl was currently giving him. Eduard didn't notice her at first, standing away from the gathered throng. For some strange reason, she seemed oddly familiar to him. Eduard had the feeling he knew her from somewhere- and from the look on her face, she shared the same idea.

So enraptured in trying to figure out who she was, Eduard jumped when his iphone rang in his pocket. He sighed to find it was a message from Ivan. Time to leave. Finally. Eduard dusted himself off and gathered his things, trying to disregard the girl. If he hadn't recognized her by now, then it was most likely nothing more than a sense of déjà vu. Maybe she reminded him of that waitress from earlier?

He nodded, snapping his fingers. Yes, that's right. She also had long blonde hair.

The crowd released a cry of disappoint as Deshad and Yao also received Ivan's message. Darakhshan and Kafentse separated and headed towards the back of the school, their rendezvous point. The rest of the crowd dispersed, finally revealing an exhausted Yao and cheery-as-always Deshad. An Asian girl, looking just as wiped out as Yao, bowed to him. Instead of bowing back, Yao smiled and patted her head.

Wait a minute, they knew each other? Yao was never that nice to anyone unless they were good friends. The only people Yao even _smiled _to were Ivan and Deshad. This girl must have been very important to him. Eduard paused a moment, watching the rest of their moment unfold. He was glad Yao had someone that close to him still alive. In Eduard's experience, good friends were hard to come by- especially when you were a cursed man walking through the middle of underground alongside the other rejects.

Was he a reject?

Ugh, Eduard hoped not. He needed to stop thinking that, lest Feliks catch on and use it as ammo against him.

He stopped dead in his tracks. That girl. He _did _recognize her! "Five years ago in Poland," he excitedly murmured, turning back to her. "You're the one that saved Toris and Feliks from that Laumė!"

Oh crap, she was the one that saved Toris and Feliks from that Laumė. That meant she was Natalya Arlovskaya, who had sworn to gut them like pigs the next time she had the displeasure of meeting them. Eduard's eyes went wide in terror. She had been serious, too! Eduard had seen her brutally massacre that poor Laumė. When Feliks got on her nerves, Natalya donned the same expression she wore during the Laumė's murder. They had only barely escaped with their lives, thanks to Eduard's quick thinking.

He couldn't rely on another miracle with his recent cringe-worthy luck, however. With a scream, he sprinted as far away from her as possible, giving no regard to the dozens of stares he received from the other students.

"Hey!"

Eduard let out another shriek when someone grabbed the back of his jacket. He released a shaky exhale when he saw it was Ivan. Eduard had ran all the way back to the city limits, not too far from the school. Still, it was an impressive feat. Eduard was rightly proud of himself. He fumbled with his satchel until he found his flash drive. Ivan took it, but instead of asking about his job or the others' whereabouts, he grinned, "So you know my sister?"

Sister? The same Natalya Arlovskaya that was after his head was Ivan Braginski's _SISTER?_

He didn't feel like too big of a sissy when he passed out.

**Notes-**

**A Laumė is yet another sort of woodland nymph found in Baltic mythology. They are mostly kind, taking in young children and becoming perfect housewives to lucky men, but their tempers are **_**awful.**_


	5. Part III, Chapter 1- Roman Holiday

**Welcome to Part III! This was originally going to be a story focusing on Japanese mythology, but I decided I would save that until some new characters are introduced. Part III is also a lot more action packed than the previous part. Expect fight scenes in all of the chapters. And remember to send me any suggestions for supernatural stuff to put into the story!**

_**Part III, Chapter 1- Roman Holiday**_

Feliciano yawned when he stumbled out of his room. He wasn't sure what time it was, but he could still hear a dim chatter emanating from the common room down the hall. He squinted, peering into the room as best as he could. The lights were turned off, but the couch-full of people were illuminated by the large TV. Ah, that's right. Tonight was horror movie night. It was Alfred's turn to pick a movie, so it was probably another Stephen King movie. They had already watched _Rose Red _and_ It_, so it was probably _The Shining_ this time. If he wasn't so dead tired and certain the movie would terrorize him for weeks, he probably would have joined them.

He sluggishly walked past them, waving to Kiku, the only one to notice him. Everyone else, especially Alfred, was enraptured by the lady finding the type writer and weird message. As usual, only the regulars had come to watch the movie: Kiku and Alfred, obviously, but Xiao Mei and Natalya were also present. Feliciano bet that Xiao Mei had dragged Natalya out so she could socialize. They had only properly met thanks to Xiao Mei's insistence. Sadiq and Gupta were on the couch with Kiku and Alfred, while Alice sat in the floor. Apparently she was getting a pedicure from Xiao Mei while they watched the movie?

He slowly tackled the steps, trying to keep himself awake enough to make it downstairs and out to the courtyard. Feliciano had been too tired and lazy to change out of his fuzzy pajamas, but he had bothered to put on shoes. When stepped out into the chilly night, he was glad he had thought to bring them. The dewy grass soaked the hem of his pants, and the air sent chills through him, effectively waking him up.

Now that he was actually coherent, he took a moment to reassess his priorities. Here he stood, quickly turning into a Feli-cicle, following the directions in the text Ludwig had sent him. But why exactly would Ludwig wake him up like that since he was probably still exhausted from their trip to Sicily? And, slightly more concerning, where was Tavian? Arthur didn't want students running around outside at night after the Kyrkogrimen took Nikolaus, and had appointed Tavian the extra job of making sure everyone stayed inside.

Fear slowly crept upon him as he anxiously rubbed his arms, vainly looking around for Ludwig or Tavian. It didn't take long for him to give up and turn back to the residence hall. Before he could take a step towards sanctuary, though, Feliciano's skin crawled with another chill. He heard a growl split through the night. Something slammed into him, knocking him on his back. Feliciano let out a shriek when something pinned him to the ground. He flailed around in his panic, whacking at whatever pressed such a heavy weight on his chest. Tears filled his eyes when he was realized fighting it was no use. "LUUUUUUUUDDY!"

He screamed again when the air in front of him shimmered, and suddenly Ludwig was glaring down at his face. Feliciano nearly cried out a third time, but realization suddenly slammed into him. "Wait a minute," he gasped, "y-you're a-!"

"Shut up," the imposter growled in Ludwig's deep voice. It tapped Feliciano's forehead and his head flopped down on the springy grass, eyes shutting in slumber. The monster's head jerked up when it heard footsteps approaching. With a shudder, it shrank down into a mouse and scurried away in the grass, leaving Feliciano behind.

Kiku worriedly flung the door open, anxiously looking into the night for Feliciano. He let out a quiet gasp when he located his friend in grass. "Feliciano!" he cried, running to his side. The others piled outside, crowding around him. Matthew checked his pulse, exhaling in relief when his heartbeat was steady. Sadiq announced he would get Arthur, and Gupta followed after him. "Someone wake up Lovino," Kiku instructed, patting Feliciano's face in an attempt to wake him up. "And find Ludwig and Gilbert!"

Alfred and Natalya were the only ones left from the movie group, kneeling down in the grass. "Are there any wounds?" Natalya asked, already preparing to rip off the end of her gown.

"No, he's just unconscious," Matthew answered. He shook his head in confusion. "It doesn't look like he's been hit with anything, so I don't think he was knocked unconscious. It had to be something superna-"

Everyone flinched when Feliciano suddenly snored. "What the heck?" Alfred eloquently asked, poking into his cheek. "He's _asleep?_"

Natalya smacked his hand away. He pulled back with a pout and a sullen, "Just making sure, geez." She closed her eyes as she wracked her brain for any sleep-inducing monsters she knew of. There was a _baku_, but they ate bad dreams, and were generally kind to humans. One certainly wouldn't attack Feliciano. What else, what else…. Vampires could hypnotize their victims, but she doubted there were any in the northeast besides Tavian. Maybe it was a _bakhtak_? They were notorious for causing sleep paralysis and nightmares. She supposed it was possible that they could also put someone to sleep.

None of them made sense, though. Baku were indigenous to Japan, while bakhtaks generally didn't leave the Middle East, except for their cousins in England and Northern Europe. They were respectively called Old Hags and Maras. If that was the case, Arthur and Gilbert would definitely know if this was the work of a bakhtak.

No matter what had done this to Feliciano, it shouldn't have gotten past Tavian. It was one thing for Natalya to break in, but for a monster to escape his notice? Where was he, anyway?

When she lifted her head to scan the campus for him, she found a crabby looking Arthur in striped pajamas being led by Sadiq and Gupta. Natalya wasn't sure if he was so irritable because he had been woken from his precious beauty sleep (though he needed a lot more rest if he was going to do something about those eyebrows) or because Feliciano had been the idiot to break his rule first. Even Natalya followed the stupid regulation- not because she respected Arthur and accepted his leadership, but mostly because she didn't want any late-night confrontations with Tavian. Things were still a little sour between them since she arrived and skewered him eight times. Honestly, one would think he would be over that by now, but obviously he enjoyed holding grudges.

"How's the situation?" Arthur groggily asked, concernedly looking him over. His eyes landed on his grass-stained sleeves. "Looks like he was pushed, or he tried to struggle. Where's Lovino and the Beilschmits?"

"I sent some others after them," Kiku answered. He still nervously bit his lip as he sat with his hands uselessly folded on his lap. "I-I saw him leave the floor, but I thought he was going for a late night snack. He often does that, you know." Arthur nodded exasperatedly. Several times had he run into Feliciano contently eating pasta in the dark cafeteria at the weirdest hours. He wouldn't admit it, but it nearly scared him out of his skin each time when he cheerfully spoke, inviting Arthur to join him. "Several minutes later, we heard him scream. When we came outside, we found him like this."

Arthur nodded thoughtfully. He suddenly furrowed those monstrous eyebrows of his. "Wait a minute, is he asleep?"

"I'm thinking it could have been a bakhtak," Natalya finally spoke up. "I encountered one in Iran once. It terrorized a family, giving them terrible nightmares."

"Like an Old Hag. I suppose it may have been that. It might have gotten Tavian somewhere, too. Bakhtaks normally aren't dangerous. They're more annoying than harmful, and easy to dispatch. Unless they've morphed into a human."

Kiku looked up in confusion. He wasn't as knowledgeable about creatures like this, but he had heard of a bakhtak. As far as he knew, they were incapable of shapeshifting. Arthur noticed his look and explained, "Old Hags and Mares can shapeshift. Iranian bakhtaks cannot. It's the only difference they have. Since it would be more likely that the European version is here because of the proximity between us and them, we should be prepared for anything. These things are quite intelligent. Did you kill your bakhtak or merely chase it off, Natalya?"

"Of course I killed it, but only after chasing it into Tajikistan. It was _very_ annoying, actually." On her mental list of things she would attack viciously at the first notice, they were at a spot just below those annoying boys she met in Poland. Just thinking of them- particularly that stupid Pole and the pathetic Lithuanian- infuriated her. She took a deep breath, violently shoving their faces out of her head. Getting riled up about them would not help matters. "We need to go after this thing. There's no telling how far it's gone already."

Arthur nodded, creaking back to his feet. He looked like was holding in a yawn when he said, "Natalya and I will go after the Old Hag. Kiku, I need you, Gilbert, and Ludwig looking after Feliciano. Sadiq, Gupta, look around here for Tavian. Do _not_, under any circumstances, leave school grounds. There are still countless charms placed around the boundary to keep out the nastier things, so you should be safe so long as you do not leave. And Alfred… please refrain from entering… 'hero mode'."

"…Hero mode?" Natalya slowly repeated.

"Don't get him started," Arthur snapped.

She rolled her eyes and shoved past Alfred on her way back inside. "I'll meet you in your office when I've gotten everything packed."

((((()))))

Feliciano felt carsick. He instantly plopped down on the floor, feeling lightheaded and dizzy. If he could properly see through the darkness, he was sure what he would see would be blurry. Luckily, it didn't take him long to shake the feeling off, though he still felt cold. He peered through the dank mist, but he could only barely make out more fog, more darkness, and….

Holy Toledo, was that a _girl?_

Every bit of trepidation drained away from him. "Heeeeeeeey, pretty lady!" he cheerfully called. He waved largely, trying to get the girl's attention. Finally, she looked up, showing off the prettiest blue eyes Feliciano had ever seen. Her big blue eyes widened as she hopped up to her feet, fancy white dress perfectly flowing to her ankles. Her skin was pale, seeming to glow against the somber background, and her golden hair nearly lit up the space around her. Two thin braids hung over her shoulders. He took off in a sprint towards her, elated to have some company in this weird place. Even better, it was the company of a lovely young lady! He stumbled to a cool stop in front of her, flashing his best pearly smile.

She recoiled back. "U-um…," she nervously started, looking him over. "Are you… wearing a bed sheet?"

"Huh?" Feliciano looked down at his pajamas, which now suspiciously looked scarily similar to a toga. He felt at his chest and found a bronze pendant. There was no need to take it off and examine it- he knew his family's insignia well enough. But he stole a look at it anyway, taking in the smooth, shiny surface of the expertly engraved wolf. Gingerly, he ran a thumb over the insignia he hadn't seen in _centuries_. Both he and Lovino had lost their pendants long ago- probably in a fight or during a wild escape. The memories bombarded him all at once, a millennia worth of fierce battles and secret missions and watching old and new friends die in the same cruel way-

"Shh, it's okay," the timid voice twittered, breaking into his congealing thoughts. She tugged on his arm, urging him to sit. Feliciano realized he was shaking. He obeyed without complaint, pendant still tightly clutched in his hand. The girl frowned, hesitantly reached out a hand to comb through his hair. "I'm Lili. What's your name?"

Feliciano blanched when he almost said "Felicitus". "F-Feliciano," he finally ground out. "My name is Feliciano. Do you know where we're at? Or… am I dreaming all of this?"

"I'm not sure. I thought I was dreaming," Lili shrugged. She sat down in front of him, wearing that ever present look of concern. "So… you're Roman? I'm sorry for calling your toga a bed sheet."

"…I'm not Roman. That's… that's impossible, right? O-obviously I'm Italian. I guess I was in a toga party before I came here? Geez, I thought Arthur told Alfred that toga parties were strictly off limits…." Feliciano continued to ramble, spewing lie after pathetic lie. None of it fazed Lili in the slightest. Honestly, he was amazed to see her so willingly accept the fact that he was literally Roman. She was also surprisingly comfortable about their situation, taking it all in with a calm demeanor. Feliciano shut up.

Lili sadly nodded. "I understand if you don't want to talk about it. Well… this is potentially going to sound very odd, but before you fell asleep, were you attacked by an invisible monster that turned into my brother?"

Feliciano finally sighed in relief. At least he could tell her the truth about the Mara. Or Old Hag. Whatever. "It's a monster usually found in Europe. I'm not sure what it was doing in New York, but it got me, too."

"…I was in Europe," Lili slowly said, "and you were in New York? Then… how did it send us to the same location in the veil?" Feliciano watched in shock as she frowned again, tapping her chin in thought. Maybe this wasn't freaking her out because she was a hunter? Oh, great. Hunter ladies _never_ wanted to go on a date with him. Lili was oblivious to Feliciano's breaking heart, muttering under breath about something or another. He snapped out of his self pity (he was unfortunately used to dealing with this kind of rejection) and leaned in to catch her quiet murmuring. "…This is too suspicious to be coincidence. If it purposefully lured me outside so it could send my soul here, then it had to be for a good reason. Feliciano, what happened when the thingie got you?"

He spared a giggle at her serious use of "thingie". Feliciano really liked her, even if it was impossible for something to happen between them. He cleared his throat, once again getting on track. "I got a text from my friend telling me to come outside. I was really tired because we had just gotten back from Sicily, but Ludwig doesn't joke around. Ever. When I finally realized that he probably hadn't sent that text, the Mara jumped me. Then I woke up here."

"I think we're in the veil. Uh, a kind of curtain that mixes our world and the spiritual world. It's kind of its own dimension, but connected by ley lines and all sorts of other things," she explained.

"So the Mara shot our souls into the veil at the same place and time?" he worriedly asked.

"Yeah. So… I know it's going to be hard on you, but you have to tell me what's so special about you. If I don't find out, I won't be able to get us back home."

"_You?_" he burst in surprise. That was impossible! Only monsters and the occasional high-powered ghost could transport humans to and from the veil. Lili didn't appear to be any of the above, and she seemed too genuinely eager to be lying to him. She had to be seriously confident she could magically pop them back into their bodies.

Wait a minute. Feliciano back-pedaled his thoughts, coming back to _magically. _There was one other way she could get them out of the veil, and that was with the use of magic. But that was even more impossible! There were no more magic-users! They had all gone extinct in the thirties and forties, hunted down and murdered by the Axis Powers and Russia. The few that lived on other continents were probably killed in combat or by the strange surge of monsters that arose during the war. Feliciano vividly remembered running from Sigbins and Blemmyes with Lovino and Eric Beilschmit. Thankfully they also went extinct in the war. While the Axis and the Allies tore up Europe, the hunters destroyed everything they left in their wake.

After the war, Feliciano, Lovino, and Frederick (because Eric had an unfortunate accident with a Yeti in Austria after they left the crowd lynching Mussolini) travelled everywhere looking for anyone left with magic. They wanted nothing more than to have their curses broken so they could finally die after witnessing the war first hand. It was almost worse to see the destruction wrought to underground than the postwar chaos raging above them. Everywhere, family had been sacrificed and lost to ancient horrors. Even if they had found any straggling survivors, they would have refused to help them.

They spent the next forty years looking for a people long gone. When Gilbert was still a little kid, they all moved to America. There they lived in various places along the East Coast before settling in New York. Five years ago, Feliciano and the others ran into Arthur, Tavian, Nikolaus and Yao, planning to build their school. They had been with them ever since.

In all of that time, there had been no hint of non-monster magic. Unlike the other failed genocides, this one actually _happened_. So there was absolutely no way Lili could-

With a sigh, she held out her palm. A small flame erupted from the middle of her hand. Feliciano screamed, falling backwards in the most embarrassing way possible. He flipped back, face melded into horror. "NO NO NO NO NO NO," he yelled, shaking her shoulders. "YOU ARE NOT- YOU CANNOT BE- _THIS CAN'T BE REAL_."

"Of course it's real!" Lili huffily argued. She flicked her wrist and the flame dissipated. She next peeled Feliciano's fingers off of her shoulders. "I know it's not common anymore, but I promise you I am the real deal!"

Feliciano swallowed hard, stiffly shaking his head. "They died out," he whispered. "We looked everywhere. No one was left."

"My great-grandfather lived in Liechtenstein. He was the only magic user in the country. Since they were neutral with Switzerland, he was safe. My family did all they could to protect him from the monsters. So many of them died to keep him alive."

Lili offered him a small smile. She took his hand and lightly pulled him to his feet. "Since I've had to teach myself all of this, I know I'm not the best. But I'm going to try and get us home, okay?" At his nod, she squeezed his hand reassuringly and stuck out her hands. Although nothing was happening, Feliciano could tell she was straining herself. Her thin arms shook and her lips were starting to pale. When she swayed on her feet, Feliciano tugged on her arm, snapping her out of it. He caught her when she started to fall and softly laid her on the ground. "Sorry," she murmured.

"It's okay. It's going to be hard to get us out of here," Feliciano quietly replied. While she tried to fight off the faint feeling inching up on her, Feliciano exchanged nervous looks between her and his pendant. All of this was too much for him. Hope and despair fought inside of him, periodically resurfacing a memory he _really _wanted to forget. Old faces flashed before him, scraping voices dug into his brain, begging him to remember them and the mistakes he had made that had gotten them killed.

"Feliciano!"

He jerked his head up at the furious whisper, dropping the pendant. It fell back against his chest, a cold, heavy weight. Lili sat up, nodding urgently behind him. Feliciano felt a chill run through him as he slowly turned, protectively shielding Lili as best as he could.

A new figure stood in the distance, swathed in the coiling mist. Feliciano and Lili stiffened when the person noticed them. He raised his hand in greeting, rushing towards them. As the man approached, Feliciano recognized him. "Tavian?" he wondered. But it wasn't the Tavian he knew. This Tavian didn't have icy, pale skin. Instead, his face was brighter and more… _alive. _His hair was a richer chestnut, too, as opposed to the pale brown it usually was. He wore old and extravagant clothes befitting someone important from the fifteenth century.

Tavian met Feliciano's gape with a pearly, non-fanged smile. "I'm looking pretty good, aren't I?" he boasted, holding out his coat. He revealed several pristine knives and the shaft of a crossbow. "But _wait for it_…." Tavian dug around in his pocket before revealing an apple. With a moan of pleasure, he bit into it. "That is _so_ good."

"You're not a vampire anymore?" Feliciano awed, jumping up in glee. "You're cured? That's amazing!"

Tavian's face fell, instantly putting a damper on Feliciano's happy dance. He sighed, tossing the quickly devoured apple core behind him. "Not quite. This is apparently what my soul looks like, just like you look like a senator's grandkid again. And is that a wedding gown?" he suddenly asked Lili.

She blanched, quickly ducking her head. "N-no, of course not. It's… not," Lili lamely answered. When Tavian cocked an eyebrow, she sighed. "Okay, it is. But I think that out of all us, I am the most normally dressed."

They couldn't argue with that. Tavian wore puffy pants and sleeves. He huffily crossed his arms when Feliciano giggled, shooting a look at his bed sheet. Feliciano ignored him and excitedly turned back to Lili. "So you were getting married? Or are you already married? Do you have any kids? Though you look pretty young…-"

"…I didn't get married," she quietly said. "I ran away before the ceremony. That's how I ended up in Switzerland with my big brother. I… I couldn't do it. I barely even knew the guy."

"But why would you be wearing your wedding dress here?" Tavian asked. "From what I gather, our souls take the look of what we feel most comfortable in. Sort of like what makes us happiest. I look like my awesome hunter self from 1437, Feli here is once again a rich and lazy Roman."

Lili shrugged. She absently picked at the simple yet elegant gown. "Well, I guess I was excited for a little while. I mean, I didn't know him that well, but he seemed nice. My grandmother loved him. She was sure he would be able to watch over me. But the more I thought about it, the more I hated the idea of running off with a stranger. So I ran away and found some other family in Switzerland. In order to keep hidden, I changed my last name to match theirs, and my aunt and uncle adopted me. So Vash is actually my cousin, but we've been like brother and sister for years."

Feliciano slid up beside her once she finished. "So… you're single now?"

"Do you really think this is the best time to flirt?" Tavian fussed, graciously peeling him away from Lili's side. She flashed him a thankful grin before turning to Feliciano, standing at a decent distance from her once again. "So, since we're stuck here, how about you two tell me about yourselves? Like, how are you a Roman? And when did you turn into a vampire?"

Feliciano and Tavian wore matching faces of revolt, but eventually Feliciano sighed. "My grandfather, my brother, and I were at war when it happened. Germanic warriors were invading Rome, and we joined the fight to defend the city. My grandfather fought a magician. They mortally wounded each other, but before the warrior died, he cursed me and my brother with immortality to get back at my grandfather. My grandpa then cursed his first son to take care of us, and all of his descendants to do the same until our curse was broken. So… my brother and I have spent the last thousand years looking for someone who could break the curse. When we couldn't find anyone, we… tried to kill ourselves. Nothing we tried worked. We couldn't starve ourselves, and all of our wounds healed too quickly for us to die from them. We travelled everywhere, witnessing the most important events in history. We fought in both world wars, but moved to America after the Berlin Wall was torn down. Now we go to a really cool hunter school in New York."

Lili nodded, more than a little shocked and very horrified at his story. She couldn't look at his face anymore without imagining the sweet boy stabbing himself or shooting his brother in the head, hoping that maybe this time it would work. "I-I'm sorry," she stammered. "I shouldn't have asked. Tavian-"

"Mine's not as bad," he quietly said. "I grew up in Romania, hunting vampires with the folks for years. When I was twenty-four, I was an idiot and went after one by myself. Obviously I lost, and I've spent the past couple centuries snacking on blood and getting really lame sunburns when I slept in the wrong tree. I also met Arthur five years ago, and I've been hanging out with him since. I'm sort of the watch dog at the school. Everyone holds annual blood drives for me. It's actually pretty sweet of them."

Now Lili looked a little sick. She forced a smile on her face, though, and nodded to the boys. "That's… great. I'm glad both of you are happy at the school, at least. It seems like a lovely place."

"It is!" Feliciano cried, all of his former seriousness long gone. "All of my best friends go there! Gilbert- one of my guardians- teaches history, and Ludwig- my other guardian- is my best friend ever! He's probably tearing apart the city looking for me right now."

Tavian nervously coughed. "Um… actually, I think that's going to be the least of his problems."

((((()))))

Sadiq and Gupta had already scoured half of the campus for Tavian, and walking around in the dark was beginning to get creepier and creepier. Sadiq shakily held the flashlight Arthur had handed to them, while Gupta called out for Tavian. Now, it must be said that neither of them were easily scared. Some of the freakiest supernatural stuff happened in the Middle East, and Egypt was a cradle for the strange and dangerous. They were perhaps the most prepared for any situation. They had grown up fighting things like bakhtaks and exorcising spirits.

It was because of their experience that this time they were afraid. Bahktaks (or whatever Natalya and Arthur had called them) _could_ put people to sleep. Some of the older, more powerful ones could even send someone's soul flying into the veil.

If one had done that to Tavian, finding him probably would not be the best idea.

No one at the school- except possibly Natalya- would dare call Tavian a monster. He was the guy that kept the nasty things in New York away from them. He wasn't afraid to strike up a conversation with someone taking a random night walk. He was almost the most normal person at the school! But the fact that he was a vampire and indeed a monster wasn't something they could just forget. As soon as something happened to take "Tavian" out of the monster, it would be something that could and gladly _would_ easily kill everyone before the break of day.

After seeing Feliciano and eventually coming to the conclusion that they were _not _going to wake him up any time soon, a heavy uneasiness had clouded over Sadiq. Though Gupta didn't show it, Sadiq knew he was just as apprehensive as him.

Would they find Tavian or a monster?

Sadiq stiffened when the light crunch of a snapping twig echoed through the night. Gupta drew his sickle, slowly turning to the sound. Before he could even raise his weapon in defense, a shadowy ball of thick maroon coat came flying at him, slamming him into the ground. Sadiq dropped the flashlight in favor of tackling the vampire off of his friend. Tavian- or, well, Tavian's soulless monster body- threw an elbow to his ribs and Sadiq _heard _the bones crack. He cried out, losing his grip on Tavian's coat. Tavian's arm flew back, shoving him further away. His other hand had a tight grip on Gupta's shirt.

"No!" Sadiq choked out, blearily trying to stand. Gupta finally found purchase on his sickle and slashed upwards, shredding Tavian's chest. He recoiled with a hiss, giving Gupta enough of an opening to wriggle out of his grasp. Sadiq drew his sabre and stabbed it into his back before he could grab Gupta's leg. Tavian's pained howl made them both flinch, sending waves of guilt crashing into them. But when pain flared up in Sadiq's chest again, he was reminded that this was not their friend.

"ARTHUR!" Sadiq frantically yelled, hobbling away from some painful-looking claws. He winced at his wounds, but tried to ignore the pain for now. From the corner of his eye he could see that Gupta's shirt was scratched, starting to darken with blood. Tavian also noticed, snapping his head around to him. The thin Egyptian brandished his sickle, fully prepared to chop off any hands that lunged for him. Tavian flashed a grim smile, catching Gupta off guard. Before he could swoop in with fangs bared at his exposed neck, a dagger came flying towards him, planting itself in his shoulder. Tavian, Gupta, and Sadiq turned to see a vague Natalya-shaped shadow running at them. She ran under a lamp and her platinum and navy form was revealed. The look on her face was about as frightening as Tavian.

Instead of meeting Natalya head on as they expected, Tavian jerked the knife out of his arm and stabbed it into Gupta's shoulder. He sharply gasped, instantly curling his fingers around the hilt to dislodge it as quickly as possible. Tavian dove in for his neck.

Natalya and Sadiq shoved him away when they heard Gupta scream. Letting out her own shrill cry, Natalya stabbed knife after knife into him, pinning his arms down. Sadiq skirted around her to Gupta. He balled up his jacket and pressed it into the side of his neck, thankful that Tavian hadn't bitten into the side where the jugular vein was. He offered praise to Allah when he noticed the knife hadn't dug into anything important, either. He ripped off part of his shirt and pressed it into his shoulder, apologizing when Gupta winced.

Sadiq looked over his shoulder at Natalya, slicing up anything that wasn't Tavian's heart. He couldn't help but sigh in relief. He was afraid that she would really kill him. Either she knew that his soul was currently AWOL or she had some compassion in that shriveled heart of hers after all. He looked up at the sound of more footsteps. This time it was Arthur, a look of unbridled panic written on his face. He dropped to Gupta's side first, freaking out. It surprised Sadiq to see the normally cool dean suddenly so flustered. But then again, this was the first time any of his students had ever been hurt. "He'll survive," Sadiq breathlessly reported.

"Are you hurt?" Arthur responded, turning his roving eyes over to him.

"I'm fine for now! Just do somethin' about Tavian!"

He turned even more terrified eyes to Natalya, just barely holding the crazed vampire back. She was stronger than any of them had previously thought. Sadiq made a mental note to never get on this chick's bad side. Arthur shot over to them, stomping a foot on Tavian's chest. He knelt down and grabbed his head. Before snapping his neck, he muttered, "Don't look."

Sadiq winced at the sound. Tavian cried out one last time before falling silent. He wasn't dead, of course, and Sadiq doubted he was unconscious. He was still smart enough to realize that he wouldn't be attacking anyone with a broken neck. Arthur offered Natalya a hand, but she refused it, instead looking down at her dress in disdain. Although it was hard to see, it was plain she was soaked with black vampire blood. "I think I'm going to be sick," she gagged, forcing herself to look away.

"Don't touch your face!" Arthur yelled as she quickly waddled away.

Sadiq almost smirked when he heard her mutter, "Ew ew ew ew ew." Almost. He turned back to Gupta, dark skin starting to pale, and panic took his amusement's place. "Arthur, we have to patch him up."

"Yes yes yes," he quickly burst, looking back to them. He spared Tavian a warning glare before taking Sadiq's place in taking care of Gupta. He muttered reassuring words to Gupta while he fished out a first aid kit from his coat. He pulled out a bottle of alcohol, face contorting into a pained frown. "This is going to hurt, Mr. Sadat." Without awaiting a reply he poured the bottle out on his neck. Gupta held in the scream this time, gritting his teeth and clenching at the grass. Arthur quickly grabbed the bandages next. He gingerly lifted Gupta's head onto his lap and expertly wrapped the bandages around his neck, careful not to jostle him. Sadiq watched him work in wonder. He was sure he had never seen someone so efficient at patching someone up. Obviously Arthur was well used to this, and it made it wonder how many times he had been forced to save a friend's life. He wondered how many times he fell, too. Sadiq also noticed that Arthur had adopted a grim calmness. It was almost hard to tell that the man had been on the verge of a heart attack just minutes before. He must have spent years doing this, then.

When he was positive Gupta wouldn't bleed out, he moved onto the gash in his shoulder. He repeated the painful process of pouring the rest of the alcohol on the wound. Instead of reaching for the bandages this time, Arthur tore a larger hole in his shirt. "This needs to be stitched up," he muttered.

Sadiq's eyes went wide. "St-stitched up? You're gonna sew him up out here?"

"It will stop the bleeding," Arthur snapped in reply. He felt around for a stick Gupta could bite on. Sadiq found one first, kindly wiping it off on his shirt first. Another wave of agony rolled through him as he knelt back down to hand it to Arthur, reminded him that he needed to be patched up sooner or later too. He almost couldn't stand to watch him carefully thread a needle he wiped down with an antibacterial wipe, but Sadiq forced himself to watch, like he had made himself watch as Arthur broke Tavian's neck. If he was going to be a hunter his family could be proud of, he had to get used to this. There was no telling if he would be forced to repeat this one day.

Arthur seemed to read his thoughts and this time didn't offer to tell him not to look. His frown deepened when Gupta let out a clipped cry, but he didn't slow his rapid stitching. He tugged it tightly, making sure it had closed the hole before tying it off and breaking the needle off of the string.

He put his things away and hid the kit back in his coat. "Are you alright? Do you think you can stand? Mr. Adnan, how about you? Are you able to make it to the infirmary?"

Sadiq nodded, though he couldn't help but hiss in pain as he stood. He gingerly fingered his chest, feeling where the bones had been broken. With a rugged sigh, he cast a glare down at Tavian, who returned it. Now that Sadiq was able to get a better look, he noticed that Tavian's eyes had taken on a darker hue. They looked empty and black now- the eyes of a monster. He felt Arthur's hand clap him on the shoulder, jarring him away from those awful eyes. Gupta leaned heavily against his shoulder, flashing him a look of concern. Sadiq could have rolled his eyes. Still concerned about him when he was the idiot bleeding to death a few minutes ago.

"I hear the others coming. They'll take care of Tavian," Arthur softly explained. Sadiq looked behind him and, sure enough, he saw Matthew, Alfred, and Nikolaus running towards them. Once they had gotten close enough, Arthur started his slow, careful walk to the infirmary. Sparing Tavian one final look, Sadiq hurried after him.


End file.
